José Mourinho believes he is a calmer manager than his Liverpool counterpart Jürgen Klopp but still cares enough to sprint along the touchline to celebrate a Manchester United goal.
United face Liverpool on Sunday hoping to cut the gap to the second-placed side to two points. The Portuguese famously ran along the Old Trafford turf in March 2004 to celebrate Costinha’s goal last-gasp goal for Porto that knocked United out of the Champions League. Porto would go on to win the competition that year.
Jose Mourinho’s celebration when his Porto team knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League.
Klopp, who whose histrionics on the touchline are well known, said on the eve of Sunday’s clash that he and Mourinho share the same kind of “angriness”.
Asked about this, Mourinho said: “No, I just think we like to win, like every manager likes to win. I’m not sure he is as calm as I am. I just think we like to win like every manager likes to win.
“Everyone has his own personality, his own style of coaching, of leading, probably we have some qualities that are similar – for sure we have other qualities that make us really different persons and managers. Looking to this match he wants to play the game as much as I want, he is as much motivated as I am.
“Yeah I can run [along the touchline]. Yes I can still run it’s no problem. The problem is to score a winning goal in the last minute.”
Jurgen Klopp is an animated presence on the sidelines.
Defeat for United would raise doubts about their ability to compete for an automatic Champions league place, but Mourinho says he is unconcerned that the stakes are so high.
“So many big matches [for me], I wouldn’t say nervous. No not at all,” he said. “But that desire to play, that desire that the match be tomorrow and not Sunday. I have to wait two days for this game. It is three points, plus the emotional side of it. The emotional side of it, the fans and the players that are in the club for a long time. I think they understand the feeling better than I do.
“But I’m here for a few months and I understand step by step the dimension of the feeling, that good rivalry. I always feel that rivalry is a very good thing for football.”
