Jose Mourinho, the "Special One"

 Jose Mourinho is thumbs-up during
his glory days as Chelsea manager. 

Following the surprise exit of Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager, i take this chance to look at some of the quotes made by a man I still believe is currently the top football manager in Europe, and perhaps in the world and who was forced out of his job by a group of Stamford Bridge's oligarch led by Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

Mourinho’s most memorable quotes

"Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one" 
Mourinho introduces himself to the English press after arriving from Porto in summer 2004.

"For me, pressure is bird flu. I'm feeling a lot of pressure with the problem in Scotland. It's not fun and I'm more scared of it than football." Insisting his side wouldn't catch a cold as Man Utd breathed down their necks.

"Look at my haircut. I am ready for the war." Unveiling his new Action Man haircut

"In the second half it was whistle and whistle, fault and fault, cheat and cheat. The referee controlled the game in one way during the first half but in the second they had dozens of free-kicks. I know the referee did not walk to the dressing rooms alone at half-time"
Mourinho claims Sir Alex Ferguson had unduly influenced referee Neale Barry at half-time during a Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester United in Jan 2005. He was fined £5,000 by the Football Association for improper conduct.

"I don't regret it. The only thing I have to understand is I'm in England, so maybe even when I think I am not wrong, I have to adapt to your country and I have to respect that. I have a lot of respect for Liverpool fans and what I did, the sign of silence - 'shut your mouth' - was not for them, it was for the English press" Mourinho defends putting a finger to his lips during the 2005 Carling Cup final against Liverpool, an action which resulted in him being sent to the stands.

"When I saw Rijkaard entering the referee's dressing room I couldn't believe it. When Drogba was sent off I didn't get surprised. There is something that tells me that in London the referee will be Collina, the best in the world. A perfect referee with personality and quality"
Mourinho claims in Portuguese newspaper Dez Record that Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard visited referee Anders Frisk's dressing room at half-time in the first leg of the teams' Champions League last-16 clash in Feb 2005. Mourinho was banned from the dug-out for two matches and fined £9,000 by Uefa for bringing the game into disrepute over his claims.

"If you ask me if I jump with happiness when I know Mr Poll is our referee? No." Not a fan of Graham Poll.

I felt the power of Anfield, it was magnificent. I felt it didn't interfere with my players but maybe it interfered with other people and maybe it interfered with the result. You should ask the linesman why he gave a goal. Because, to give a goal, the ball must be 100% in and he must be 100% sure that the ball is in" Mourinho questions the validity of Liverpool forward Luis Garcia' s goal which puts Chelsea out of the Champions League semi-finals on May 3, 2004.

"It is not a red card, of course not, and for the second time we have to play 55, 60 minutes without a man and the game is completely different. I shouldn't speak about the game, because the game is not a game" Mourinho blames a first-leg defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 in Feb 2006 on the sending-off of Asier del Horno.

"My wife is in Portugal with the dog. The dog is with my wife so the city of London is safe, the big threat is away." Reassuring the population that his runaway Yorkshire Terrier had left the country with his wife.

"Wenger has a real problem with us and I think he is what you call in England a voyeur. He is someone who likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have this big telescope to look into the homes of other people and see what is happening. Wenger must be one of them - and it is a sickness." Astonishing attack on Arsene Wenger.

"We have played against them four matches in two seasons. (When it was) 11 against 11 they never beat us. That is the reality" After 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp in 2006 which sent Barca through to the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

"Sometimes you see beautiful people with no brains. Sometimes you have ugly people who are intelligent, like scientists. Our pitch is a bit like that. From the top it's a disgrace but the ball rolls at normal speed." Describing Chelsea's sandpit of a pitch.

"We all want to play great music all the time, but if that is not possible, you have to hit as many right notes as you can." Admitting the Blues weren't completely on song last season.

"The goalkeeper has the ball in his hands, slides and the number 10 cannot get the ball. He goes with the knee into his face" - Mourinho accuses Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt of deliberately injuring Petr Cech after the pair collide in the first minute of last October's match at the Madejski Stadium.

"During the afternoon it rained only in this stadium - our kitman saw it - they tried everything. There must be a microclimate here." Bemoaning Blackburn's pitch-watering tactics after the Blues' hard-fought win at Ewood Park.

"It is not possible (for) penalties (to be awarded) against Manchester United, and it is not possible (to get) penalties in favour of Chelsea. If somebody punishes me because I tell the truth, it is the end of democracy, we go back to the old times" The Chelsea manager fumed last weekend after seeing his side's penalty appeals against Newcastle turned down, a day after United were given the benefit of the doubt over a strong injury-time penalty claim by Middlesbrough in their match at Old Trafford.

"A player who wants to be the best one of the world, and he already may be, should have the uprightness and the sufficient maturity to verify that against facts there are not arguments. If he says that it is a lie that Manchester United have conceded some penalties this season which have not been awarded against them, he is lying. And if he lies he will never reach the level that he wants to reach" Mourinho hit back at Ronaldo after the United winger claimed his penalty rant proved his countryman "doesn't know how to admit his own failures".

"It is omelettes and eggs. No eggs - no omelettes! It depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket you have class one, two or class three eggs and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem" Shorn of the likes of injury victims Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba, Mourinho cooked up a surreal analogy ahead of Tuesday's fateful draw with Rosenborg.