Mourinho Could Lose the Chelsea Dressing Room, Warns Cruyff

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Holland legend Johan Cruyff believed Jose Mourinho could lose respect from Chelsea players if he keeps blaming them for poor results.

Mourinho repeatedly criticized his strikers including their 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last week and stated his intention to buy new players in the summer.

Cruyff, who had criticized Mourinho in the past, said that, having seen the comments after the PSG match, he believed Portuguese would face a repeat of experience at Real Madrid, when he lost the support of most players in the club during his final season.

In his column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the former player and coach of Barcelona wrote: "For starters, I think the French [PSG] have a strong team with good players. Chelsea also have good players but, according to their coach, Jose Mourinho, they're not that extraordinary."

"In that respect, it's the same old story. When things go well, it's down to him; if they don't, it's down to the players. I saw how he lost the dressing room at Real Madrid and it's possible the same thing is going to happen at Chelsea."

"To ask for a 70 million euro striker as if it were perfectly normal -- that is an attitude I have trouble understanding. More so if you look at the attackers he has in his squad."

"The problem is simply that Mourinho always focuses squarely on the result. Everything else is secondary, even all the top players he has running around for him. It is short-term thinking and that’s something I can't connect with."

SOCCERNET | A. RIJAL