Mourinho celebrates ‘toughest’ title

JOSE Mourinho claimed his seventh domestic title confirmed after his Real Madrid side clinched the Primera Division crown with a 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao was the toughest of his career.Mourinho has now won titles in four different countries following previous successes with Porto in his native Portugal, Chelsea in England and Inter Milan in Italy.But the 49-year-old believes holding off the threat of Barcelona to guide Madrid to their first La Liga crown since 2008 lends extra weight to the achievement.He told RealMadridTV: “I won the league title in Portugal, Italy and England, but this one has been the toughest.“I’ve won seven league titles overall and I know what it feels like.“Barcelona won all their games, as befits the great team that they are. They’ve been winning to the very last day.“They are a club with great tradition that knows we deserved to win this title.”They complete their league programme at home to Real Mallorca.Mourinho added: “We have to celebrate this championship (but then) we have to continue working because next season will also be tough and we have games to play still in this campaign.“This team deserves even more emotion and affection, and I expect the Bernabeu to give it to them in our match against Mallorca.”Midfielder Xabi Alonso was another who felt edging out Barca was a significant achievement.The Spain international said: “We finally managed to win La Liga. It’s been a long season and there’s a lot of merit in winning the title with two games left in the championship. We have to enjoy it now.“We competed all season with a great opponent like Barcelona, and that’s why there’s so much merit in winning the title before the campaign ends. We’ve had a great run.“We’ve been regular and consistent. I dedicate this to my family, friends and all Madridistas.”Jose Mourinho’s TitlesPorto (Portugal):2002/03: Mourinho won the first of back-to-back Liga titles with Porto in 2003 when, in his first full season at the club, he helped them finish 11 points clear of his former club Benfica after losing just twice in 34 games.2003/04: It was an almost identical story the following season as Porto retained their title with an eight-point gap to Benfica after again losing just two matches. Mourinho also led Porto to the Champions League title that season before leaving to join Chelsea.Chelsea (England):2004/05: Mourinho was an immediate hit in England as, in his first season, he led Chelsea to only the second championship in their history and first since 1955. The Blues lost just once in 38 matches to finish 12 clear of reigning champions Arsenal.2005/06: As with Porto, Mourinho led Chelsea to successive Premier League titles following another dominant season which saw them finish eight points clear of Manchester United despite losing their final two games.Inter Milan (Italy)2008/09: Having left Chelsea in late 2007, Mourinho took charge of Inter the following summer and again it did not take him long to work his magic as the Nerazzurri won the league in his debut season with a 10-point gap to Juventus.2009/10: Mourinho’s Inter retained their title during a record-breaking season which saw them become the first Italian side to win the treble of Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia. That summer Mourinho left Italy to join Real Madrid.Real Madrid (Spain)2011/12: After failing to knock two-time reigning champions Barcelona off their perch during his first season at the Bernabeu, Mourinho tasted league success in his second year following a record-breaking campaign which saw them smash the club’s 51-year-old record of 168 competitive goals in a season and pass the Primera Division single-season record of 107, which was set by Madrid in 1990.

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Mourinho celebrates ‘toughest’ title