Mourinho: La Liga toughest league to win
Reuters - Wednesday 02 May 2012, 23:19
Jose Mourinho believes winning La
Liga was the toughest of the seven league titles he has sealed
in coaching stints in his native Portugal, England, Italy and
Spain, the Real Madrid manager said on Wednesday.
Real wrapped up the title with a 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao
that maintained their seven-point lead over Barcelona with two
games left and ended their bitter rivals' three-year
stranglehold on the Spanish league championship.
Mourinho became the first coach to win a domestic league in
four different major countries following his two titles in
Portugal with Porto, two in England with Chelsea, two in Italy
with Inter Milan and now one in Spain with Real.
"It was the most difficult," the 49-year-old said in a
television interview.
"Up until the final moment nobody gifted us anything," he
added.
"Bilbao put out their best team, the stadium was full and
the team wanted to win and fight, which is the way it should
be."
Getting the better of Barca, where he was an assistant under
Bobby Robson in the late 1990s, will be a particular source of
satisfaction for Mourinho, who has made a habit of needling his
former employers during his two years in the Spanish capital.
He could not help taking a dig at the Catalans, suggesting
one of the penalty's they had been awarded in their 4-1 home win
over Malaga earlier on Wednesday was "soft".
"Barca won a lot of games and tried to push the league as
far as possible," he added.
"I think that they themselves, champions and a club with a
great tradition, know that we deserve this league title."