Mourinho thirsting for taste of glory

He said he didn't really want to react to anyone else's comments, yet this verbal knifing of Ranieri could not have been more conclusive.

"Please don't call me arrogant," he pleaded again as we tried to work out whether he was just a promising manager or, as Peter Kenyon introduced him, the best in Europe. "I'm a European champion. I think I am a special one.

"I'm not a football obsessive but I've loved it since I can remember. I understand the needs of the modern game and understand the evolution of football."

Whereas Ranieri always covered himself by constantly suggesting that his side was not yet ready to compete with the Arsenals and Manchester Uniteds, Mourinho here piled straight in with the message that second was okay but it wasn't good enough for him.

"Look, football changes, society changes, the world changes. I think clubs want success in relation to their potential. Even if the manager does good work, if you don't achieve your targets you are just a person who has, in my opinion, to assume you have failed. I am not asking for time nor for limits.

"We shouldn't defend ourselves from outside pressure to say we are only waiting for success. I don't want that kind of self-protection."

In truth, he does not come across as a man in need of protection. Actually, we in the press corps might need protection from him for he is a man who could talk for Portugal.

He reckoned that next year's Champions League would be the most difficult edition yet - "all the biggest sharks will be there," as he put it - but his lot would be circling around with the most dangerous of them. Here, too, was a statement of intent that he was going to do it his way. No wonder Kenyon looked just a tiny bit nervous, but at least he will be relieved that he is not going to be asked for a stream of extravagant, multi-million pound signings.

Yes, Mourinho said, there would be some of his staff from Porto joining him but he wanted a small, workable squad. "Twenty one outfield players, the goalkeepers and no more," he explained. "That is my methodology. I believe in teams. Players don't win trophies; teams, squads win trophies," he said, when asked if there were any Chelsea players who had really taken his fancy.

"The first thing I have to promise my new players is that I will look at them with exactly the same eyes. I don't want special relationships with any one player." One message will quickly have to get through to the under-achievers at Chelsea, though.

"I love players who love to win," Mourinho, who has signed a threeyear contract, said. "That is, the players who love to win, not just in every game but at every training session and at every moment of their life."

It made you wonder if Hernan Crespo was listening.

In terms of style he clearly couldn't be more different from the splendid Ranieri. There will be no comedy act with this man. Every comment seems studied and, for the most part seems extremely intense.

At least, when he was introduced by Kenyon, the photographers begged him to smile and he broke into a radiant one. One suspects we are not going to see that all that often, though.

These past two weeks, he explained, had been remarkably difficult for him and his wife and two children once he had made his decision he was going to leave Porto to seek a challenge big enough for him.

Everybody seemed to think the deal with Chelsea was concluded long ago, he noted, whereas in fact it had only materialised over the weekend.

Ultimately, what seemed so impressive about Mourinho today was that, watching the way he won over his demanding audience, you could envisage a man who has qualities of communication and man-management to stand alongside his obvious ability as a football coach. He is absolutely compelling viewing.

"Somebody told me once many years ago that if a manager only knows about football, he never becomes a big manager," he recalled.

It is going to be fascinating to see if Mourinho can join the Wengers and Fergusons in the pantheon. It appears that he believes it is where his destiny lies.