- "I wanted Benni McCarthy to join me to partner with Didier Drogba up front but at that time he was at Blackburn Rovers and was the only hitman there."
- "FC Barcelona sold to me the best signing of my career Samuel E'too and the same season with Eto'o I won the Champions League"
Image: HANDOUT
Roma coach Jose Mourinho has finally broken his silence regarding his love for African strikers.
The 'Special One' disclosed that it is the African strikers that he has worked with that have brought him the success he enjoys.
“My success is always based on having an African striker. Without an African striker, I feel like I won't succeed, " the Portuguese said as reported by the New Telegraph.
"My belief about African strikers started with Benni Mccarthy at FC Porto whereby he scored more than 20 league goals to help me and the club to win the Portuguese League title. In that same season, he scored very important goals for me in the Uefa Champions League that helped our careers to be well known in Europe by winning my first Champions League as a Coach."
It was the European triumph that landed Mourinho the Chelsea job in 2004. He went on to win two consecutive Premier League titles with the Blues and established the Stamford Bridge outfit as a force to reckon with in the world of football.
"From Portugal to Chelsea in England, I find Didier Drogba. He was a great African weapon to win with me an English Premiership. I wanted Benni McCarthy to join me to partner with Didier Drogba up front but at that time he was at Blackburn Rovers and was the only hitman there. So they refused to give us McCarthy no matter the offer I put on the Table."
Mourinho, probably the greatest manager in Chelsea's history, acrimoniously left Chelsea for Inter Milan where he also won trophies.
"I wanted to win the Champions League with Inter Milan but I only had two Ghanaian midfielders and that was not enough for me to win the Champions League as I was dominating the league only," the experienced tactician said.
"I sat down and thought hard about having an African striker again. I approached FC Barcelona and they willingly sold to me the best signing of my career Samuel E'too and the same season with Eto'o I won the Champions League"
Mourinho, upon guiding Inter to glory, announced his departure from the Italian club to join European giants Real Madrid after the 2010 Champions League finals.
His time in Spain saw him bag the Copa Del Rey in 2011 before pipping Barcelona to the La Liga title in the 2011/12 season.
"At Real Madrid, I had all talents but the reason I didn't win the Champions League is that I had no African striker. I tried Emmanuel Adebayor but it was a loan move so Madrid does not like to use loaned Players," Mourinho, who also coached Tottenham pointed out.
"Brazil has great strikers, but if you look at them they are of African origin. I always teach new coaches in my coaching facilities that you must always have an African striker in your team."