"When I face the media, maybe I don't feel it now, here with you, because it's a different sort of interview, but when I face the media before or after the game, I feel it as part of the game"
About this Quote
The telling phrase is "part of the game". Mourinho folds journalists into the competitive ecosystem alongside referees, rival managers, and the crowd. That move reframes scrutiny as gameplay, which conveniently turns accountability into strategy. If the media is a match situation, then evasions become positioning, provocation becomes a calculated press, and controversy becomes a tool for shaping the psychological landscape. Its also a way of claiming control. Media attention is often portrayed as something that happens to managers; Mourinho flips it into something he plays.
The context matters because Mourinho rose in an era when the manager became a celebrity operator, expected to deliver not only results but constant content. By insisting he "feels it" at the microphone, he's acknowledging the adrenaline and theater that modern football demands. With you, in this calmer setting, he can be personable. In the scrum, he becomes a competitor again, using language the way he uses substitutions: to protect his team, redirect blame, and set the terms of the next headline.
Quote Details
| Topic | Coaching |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Mourinho, Jose. (n.d.). When I face the media, maybe I don't feel it now, here with you, because it's a different sort of interview, but when I face the media before or after the game, I feel it as part of the game. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-face-the-media-maybe-i-dont-feel-it-now-70144/
Chicago Style
Mourinho, Jose. "When I face the media, maybe I don't feel it now, here with you, because it's a different sort of interview, but when I face the media before or after the game, I feel it as part of the game." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-face-the-media-maybe-i-dont-feel-it-now-70144/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When I face the media, maybe I don't feel it now, here with you, because it's a different sort of interview, but when I face the media before or after the game, I feel it as part of the game." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-face-the-media-maybe-i-dont-feel-it-now-70144/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.





