Post-match press conferences are often meaningless. But not when two emotional characters like Mourinho and Croci-Torti exchange blows. Not with each other, but one after the other.
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- Lugano start their European Cup campaign with a festival of goals and a home defeat. In Thun, the Ticino side lost 3:4 to Fenerbahce Istanbul in the 2nd round of the Champions League qualifiers.
- The 38-year-old Edin Dzeko was the match-winner for the Turks, who had the overwhelming majority of the 6,000 spectators in the Thun stadium on their side. The Bosnian scored Fenerbahce's first three goals.
- New Fener coach José Mourinho sees many parallels between the hot-tempered Lugano coach Mattia Croci-Torti and his younger self.
The first leg between Lugano and Fenerbahce Istanbul in the Stockhorn Arena in Thun is great entertainment. 7 goals, 4:3 for Fenerbahce.
But what the two coaches José Mourinho and Mattia Croci-Torti offer after the final whistle is actually even better. They engage in a battle of words, not alongside and with each other, but one after the other.
Croci-Torti: "I apologized to him for that"
Mourinho is annoyed by Lugano's behaviour before the third goal: "They should have played the ball back, that had nothing to do with fair play." blue Sport asks Croci-Torti, he says: "I apologized to Mourinho in the dressing room. It was not a good decision by my players, we are not an unfair team."
Mourinho: "I always used to see red"
During the game, Croci-Torti and Mourinho have a little battle of words. Mourinho explains at the press conference: "He reminds me of me when I was young. He's loud, emotional and complains too much. But he's luckier than me, I always saw red ..."
Croci-Torti accepts Mourinho's side-swipe and says: "Mourinho has my utmost respect. He won the Champions League with Porto and Inter as outsiders. We did well as outsiders too, but unfortunately we didn't win. I've been on the bench for three years now and have learned to be calm."
Croci-Torti: "We agree on the artificial turf"
Then it's about the artificial turf in Thun. Mourinho is furious about the surface despite the 4:3 win. He rages, saying: "Top football on plastic turf is not top football. The ball is slow, the players can't dribble. The game is slow." And: "I don't understand why UEFA allows the Champions League to be played on plastic turf. And I don't understand why a good team like Lugano wants to play on it. It wasn't good for the game."
Croci-Torti is of the same opinion for once. The Ticino native says: "We hate artificial turf more than Mourinho does. What's more, this surface is an advantage for technically stronger players like him. I don't think anyone has explained to Mourinho that we don't play on this surface voluntarily. That's big shit. For once, Croci-Torti and Mourinho are on the same side. Nevertheless, I want to thank FC Thun for letting us play here."
You have to know: Mourinho has been an idol for Croci-Torti since 2010. The ardent Inter supporter, who still has his season ticket, told blue Sport ahead of the clash: "Before he came to Inter, Inter hadn't won anything for a long time. Then he put Samuel Eto'o on the wing in the final against Bayern Munich and won 2-0. That was his big victory. Since then, Mourinho has been a legend for all Inter fans, including me."
There was a warm embrace between the two before the game, followed by bickering afterwards.
