Football: I won’t quit, says defiant Mourinho

MADRID: Defiant Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho insisted on Saturday that he would not be resigning despite his team crashing to a 3-2 loss at Malaga which left the champions 16 points behind leaders Barcelona.

The disappointment of the defeat was compounded by Mourinho’s controversial decision to drop goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas from the starting line-up. Mourinho appeared incredulous when asked if he was worried about his job.

“I’m not worried about my job at all and I’m not going to resign,” said Mourinho. “I’m not a child. I know that results count. If I felt the players did not want to continue I’d be too honest to continue.” It was the first time in 10 years that Spanish World Cup winner Casillas had been axed with 25-year-old Antonio Adan called up to take the place of the benched veteran.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2012.