Mourinho unveiled as new Inter Milan coach

“The Special One? Just call me Mourinho”

Jose Mourinho says he is preparing to take Italian champions Inter into a new era, while rejecting talk that he will be looking to make wholesale changes after taking over at the San Siro.

The Portuguese was presented to the media as the new Nerazurri manager on Tuesday morning, having signed a three-year contract to succeed Roberto Mancini with the Serie A giants.

“The president asked me to be Jose Mourinho, which means working with great passion, with great empathy with all the fans, the players and the club.

“We must begin a new cycle,” he announced when asked about president Massimo Moratti’s expectations. “A cycle with a great coach in Roberto Mancini has just ended, but we turn the page now. It’s a new life for the club and all of Inter.

“I have great respect for the work done by a great coach like Mancini, but I am Jose Mourinho. I have different methods and a different philosophy. I’m expecting positive results and entertaining football. I am highly motivated. I’m happy to be in Italy and at a great club like Inter.”

During his first press conference in England after being unveiled as the new Chelsea manager in 2004, Mourinho famously described himself as a “special one”. However, the 45-year-old is keen to now put the emphasis on the club, rather than his own image, while dismissing press reports of major squad rebuilding over the summer.

“I’m happy with squad”

“What do I want to be called now? Mourinho. I have arrived at a special club, and when a club is like this the coach becomes an extra person. I’m not forgetting that I’m a great coach, but I don’t want to be special. Jose Mourinho hasn’t changed. He’s the same person with the same ambition, the same motivations, and with a great passion for football.

“I like the players in my squad and I don’t need to make radical changes. I want the chance to change things a bit because I don’t know any coach who has the same ideas as another. But I didn’t like what I read about me not liking some of the players, and that I want to buy all the best players in Europe. This is not true.

“I have a clear message that I want to transmit to my players. From now on I want to talk about them as my players. I want to tell all of them that I like the squad and I have faith in them. I have seen a lot of Inter’s matches during the season and I appreciated the team’s mentality. It’s hard for me to wait until mid-July to start.”