The ‘Special One’ holds court in Singapore
Here comes the "Special One".
Just days after watching Portugal lose to Germany in the ongoing Euro 2012 tournament in Poland-Ukraine, Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho arrived in Singapore on a two-day visit in support of the Singapore Olympic Foundation (SOF) - Peter Lim scholarship.
Singapore billionaire Lim had contributed S$10 million in June 2010 to help promising young sportsmen with financial difficulties to achieve their sporting goals.
Flanked by SOF's chairman and International Olympic Committee vice-president Ng Ser Miang, Mourinho handed out scholarships to three national athletes -- sailor Zandra Chew, hockey player Nur Ashriq Ferdaus and footballer Illyas Lee -- at 1-Altitude Bar at Raffles Place on Thursday.
The former Inter Milan and Chelsea manager will speak to under-15 and under-16 athletes at the Singapore Sports School on Friday.
Although he looked visibly tired, the 49-year-old said the events in Singapore "help me disconnect from the pressure of 11 months' of competition".
And what an 11 months it has been, as Mourinho capped off a successful second season in charge of Real by wresting the La Liga title from bitter rivals Barcelona.
The master motivator has now won league titles in four different countries -- Portugal (Porto), England (Chelsea), Italy (Inter Milan) and Spain (Real Madrid), making him arguably the world's most sought-after coach.
He also answered a question from young footballer Lee, who asked how football has made him a better man.
"Football is a collective sport. It helps you understand cooperation, solidarity, giving your best for a common aim. Football can help to make better people. From 100 players, only 1 or 2 will be good players. I hope players succeed, but if they don't, they are still a better person."
Throughout the 30-minute session, the charismatic Portuguese tactician kept the pack of close to 50 journalists entertained with his quips and dry humour.
When a reporter asked the 49-year-old how teams at the Euros can overcome Spain's tiki-taka style of football -- a brand of play made famous by Barcelona -- Mourinho shot back, "The national team of Spain has five Real Madrid players too."
Later, with a straight face, he added, "Barcelona was the champions of Spain. I repeat, WAS the champions of Spain."
When another scribe asked about his footballing philosophy, Mourinho replied, "I can answer you with a question. What is the most important thing for you in football?"
The said journalist's answer -- keep the fans coming back by playing great football -- drew another repartee from the sharp-tongued one.
"I complete your answer. Make the fans come back by scoring a lot of goals. Because football is about goals. And the team who scores the most goals is the most spectacular."
Never one to shy from lavishing praise on himself, he added, to laughter from those present, "In the last season, a team beat all the records for goals, and scored 121 goals. And I was the coach of that team, so you have my philosophy."
While he is obviously pleased with Real's achievements in the last year, he dismissed Portugal's chances of winning the Euros, describing Cristiano Ronaldo and company as "not one of the two best teams in the tournament".
Still, he pointed out, "Portugal won today (against Denmark) and now they can depend on themselves. If they can do a job against Holland, then Portugal is in the quarter-finals."
On how he can help make Singapore football better than it is now, Mourinho, who recently signed a two-year extension to his Real contract, said, "You'll need infrastructure and coaching. I'm willing to support by coaching the coaches. Football belongs to the world."
