Mourinho takes no pleasure in Inter exit

Posted Saturday, March 17, 2012 by ESPN

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has revealed that he and his players were rooting for Inter Milan to win against Marseille and hopes things change for the better for the club.

The former Inter Milan manager had harboured hopes that the club would progress to the quarter-finals in what would be a welcome distraction from their domestic failings in the Serie A.

Inter are in seventh place in the table and are six points behind Udinese who occupy the last Europa League berth.

Mourinho famously helped the club to win its first European treble in 2010 and on the way to the final, he helped eliminate current European champions Barcelona from the competition. This has created a bond of camaraderie between the two sides and so even the likes of Xabi Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo were rooting for the Italian side against Marseille in the second leg of their round-of-16 encounter on Wednesday.

"I'm extremely sad for Inter," Mourinho was reported to have said according to Football Italia.

"On Wednesday, we were all supporting Inter here.

"Not just me, but my Real players, who do not know the Inter team, but have a great feeling towards them as the Nerazzurri defeated Barcelona in the semi-finals [two years ago].

"We were sad, it's been a difficult season for Inter.

"Unfortunately in football you win and lose, but I'm sure we will return next year to win."

Mourinho did not have the best of relations with Inter president Massimo Moratti but he believes that the 50-year-old will make the right decision for the club in the summer. He does not agree with critics that beleagured manager Claudio Ranieri needs to be axed in order to ensure that the club moves past their disappointing season.

"I cannot give advice to Moratti [as] I'm a fan. [But] the President knows what to do," he said.

"Ranieri is an experienced coach and the players are of high quality.

"Changing two to three players is normal, but the strength lies in the Inter team and its president, whilst the fans provide a unique atmosphere."

Mourinho will find out on Friday on which side they will face in the quarter-finals and they could very well be paired with Inter rivals AC Milan. Real players have insisted that they fear no-one in Europe and would be happy to play with Barcelona as well.