Mourinho outrages Chelsea fans by labelling Drogba a 'diver'

Jose Mourinho, who became a legend among Chelsea fans during his time in charge of the club, has angered the Stamford Bridge faithful by labelling Didier Drogba “a diver”. In an outrageous interview with a football website, the manager of Inter Milan also criticised the behaviour of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool’s Fernando Torres, and Arsenal’s Robin van Persie.

He revealed that he no longer feels under any pressure to “defend” the Chelsea players and can now speak the truth about their behaviour.

Mourinho’s comments completely contradict his previous statements made whilst in charge of Chelsea. He consistently defended Drogba after the striker was accused various times of diving and cheating.

Indeed, Mourinho compared the Ivorian striker to a soldier and stated that he had so much faith in the player that he would “go to every war” with him. The manner in which he has now changed his mind so radically is frankly embarrassing and will not do anything to improve his profile in either the UK or Italy, where he is having a tough time fitting in.

Amusingly, he completed the interview by claiming to be fundamentally opposed to diving but then hinted that he habitually encourages his players to fall to the ground if they are fouled in the box.

The Internazionale boss spoke of his “hate” of the practice of diving but then commented that he does not like players who stay on their feet if they are fouled whilst in the penalty area. According to Mourinho, it is much better to “go down”, in order to encourage the referee to make a decision. In his world, though, this is not cheating. Indeed, Mourinho believes this attitude to be “fair”.

Jose Mourinho’s arrogance angered some during his stay in England but it appealed to others, including many members of the British press. However, so far, the Italians have not been impressed by the attitude of the Portuguese coach.

Last month, Mourinho’s Inter Milan side, who are currently sitting at the top of the Italian league, controversially beat Catania at the San Siro in a key match in the Serie A campaign. His arrogance was evident both before and after the match when he stated that his team were “better” than the opposition and deserved to win by a margin of three or four goals.

Such comments may have gone unnoticed in England but the director of Catania, Pietro Lo Monaco, launched a scathing verbal attack on Mourinho. He expressed his belief that the manager has no respect for “his adversaries” or “the host nation”.

The director continued to state that Mourinho should leave the country at the end of the season and summed up his feelings by commenting that the boss should be “smacked in the mouth”.

One thing remains clear: Mourinho has certainly not been getting his own way since his arrival in Italy. Perhaps his recent astonishing attack on Didier Drogba and other Premier League stars is the Portuguese coach’s sad way of venting his frustration.