Jose Mourinho claims he’s no longer “obsessed” with winning titles, which might be a good thing since his Real Madrid side could be hard-pressed to challenge Barcelona in Spain.
Madrid opened with a scoreless draw at Mallorca in Mourinho’s Spanish league debut last weekend, while title favorite Barcelona started with a 3-0 win at Racing Santander.
"Barca is a finished product. They could add a name or an idea but that’s just perfecting things. At Real there’s a feeling of uncertainty and doubts about continuity. In just a few years there have been (Fabio) Capello, (Bernd) Schuster, (Juande) Ramos, (Manuel) Pellegrini and me. You need stability," Mourinho said in an interview with Thursday’s Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Luckily I’m not obsessed by titles now," the Portuguese coach added. "If I did, I would have stayed at Inter with six competitions available. I would have won three and my career would have been gratified. In Spain I have three competitions and in two of them—the Spanish league and the Copa del Rey— Barca is the team to beat."
Mourinho added that he still speaks with Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti weekly, despite bidding the Italian club a teary goodbye after leading it to a treble last season, capped by Inter’s first European Cup in 45 years.
"We’re friends," Mourinho said. "I’m part of his history and he’s part of mine."
As for this season’s Champions League, Mourinho said only seven clubs can win: Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and last season’s runner-up Bayern Munich.
"One of these will win," the Portuguese coach said. "There could be a surprise like Lyon in the semifinals last season—maybe AS Roma, Arsenal, Tottenham or Benfica—but it’s difficult."