Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Mourinho says no to England


LISBON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho ruled himself out for the vacant job as England coach on Monday.

"After deep and serious thinking I decided to exclude myself from being England manager despite it being a fantastic position for me," Mourinho said in a statement published on the Web site of Gestifute (www.gestifute.com), his Portuguese agents.

England began the search for a coach following Steve McClaren's sacking after last month's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

Captain of England John Terry said last week that Mourinho, his former manager at Chelsea, would be the best choice to replace McClaren, saying the Portuguese "could make a big difference".

But Mourinho thought otherwise, even though his representatives had contact with the Football Association (FA) after McClaren's departure.

"I'm sure the FA will hire a great manager, one able to place the team back where it belongs," Mourinho said in the statement.

"I reiterate my respect for English football and, after three years in England, I firmly believe the England squad will soon be back to their usual great results."

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