Football
Miguel Delaney 10y

Chelsea's Jose Mourinho eyeing third Champions League title

Jose Mourinho is aiming for the "unique" achievement of winning the Champions League with three different clubs, and feels Chelsea are better equipped to claim the trophy this campaign due to the benefits of a second season's work.

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The Portuguese was initially reluctant to discuss the idea of chasing his own third title, but later discussed at length how much the trophy means to him.

He said: "The tournament is part of my history. I am part of the tournament's history. It's simple. If I win it once more, to win with three clubs is unique. Even if I don't do it, how many top managers in the world have only one or even not a single one?

"You have the example of the greatest in our country [Sir Alex Ferguson], who won it twice. Even if, from this moment, I don't win a single match in the Champions League, my history is there.

"I won it twice and that's fantastic, and something of which to be proud. But do I want to try and win it again? Of course I do. I have so many years ahead of me in terms of career.

"Obviously I have the ambition to win it again. But in this moment, I only think about not playing in the Europa League. I want my club to succeed in the group stage. It would be very bad for the evolution of the group and the players to go into the Europa League, and for the club's prestige.

"Chelsea are not about the Europa League. We have to qualify and do everything to qualify."

Mourinho has so far won the Champions League twice, with Porto in 2004 and Inter in 2010. Both of those victories followed initial domestic title wins in the season before, but the Portuguese does not think that is so important in the case of this Chelsea.

He added: "England is a different contest. Is the third or fourth English team in the table better than almost every champion in Europe? Yes. Yes, no doubt.

"The competition is a different competition. But Porto was my second season, and Inter also my second season, and I think the second season is a privileged place to have the team in very good conditions.

"Obviously there are teams and managers who work 10 or 15 years with the same team, and step by step with conditions to improve all the time.

"But I think the second season is a good space for evolution, for improvement. It's not easy to improve on what we did last season in terms of the table or the Champions League, but I think we are a better team."

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