Jose's way

The following is an edited extract of the lecture Jose Mourinho gave to a seminar of Israeli and Palestinian coaches in Tel Aviv last month.

The following is an edited extract of the lecture Jose Mourinho gave to a seminar of Israeli and Palestinian coaches in Tel Aviv last month.

I do not believe in practising skills separately, shooting, dribbling and tackling. A boy can practice passing the ball brilliantly but in a game it's different. The global activity is crucial. You have to put together all these aspects in a match situation.

Many clubs do fitness work separately, sending players for 45 minutes with a fitness coach, but I don't believe in this. There are exercises that can improve your physical qualities using the ball. I make the players play a simple, small-sided game of football, but they can only cross the half-way line if they are sprinting. Players don't enjoy working without the ball, so why take it away from them?

When you work with kids you work with fragile minds and fragile personalities, so you must be careful not to take their confidence away. I've been asked to play golf in England but always say no. I've played golf once in my life, with a friend of Bobby Robson's, and know I cannot do it. I don't want to experience this failure ever again.

A great pianist doesn't run around the piano or do push-ups with the tips of his fingers. To be great he plays the piano. He plays all his life and to be a great footballer it's not about running, doing push-ups or physical work. The best way to become a great player is to play football.

The most important part of success is building a team. When I go into any club the first thing to do is build the organisation. I do not believe in copies, I do not believe in using something from the past. I tell people who want to learn from me that there's no use for copies. If you want to succeed in the world of football you need to have a philosophy and to believe in it. The club is above every individual. The conduct of the team and its principles are the most important.

Joe Cole is a very good example. He has learnt to play for the team rather than as an individual. I read that players become better when they work with me, but it's not true. They are better because they work as a team and the whole is more than the sum of its parts. This is something that I am proud of achieving at all my clubs.

I'm connected to a very special financial administration, this is true, but before I arrived the previous people at the club had exactly the same administration and they did not succeed. The finance is not the most important factor. It's a big help, but it's more about creating a team.

A good leader must make all his men feel big, not small. Players must understand the philosophy of the club and believe in it. Managing human resources is the key to being a good coach. We are human beings and manage human resources. I spoke to the executives of Microsoft and gave them the same speech. Being a manager is about human resources, and there's no difference between managing Microsoft and John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.

People think that the reason I went to Chelsea was financial. I'm not a hypocrite, I don't say that money is not important for my kids and family, but the reason I went to Chelsea was to work under pressure and to test my emotional knowledge. Could I be the same under the most pressure you can imagine? Players absorb everything you do and they must feel you are the man. Sometimes you are not the man, but they must think that you are.

You must be there when they need you, that's emotional knowledge. That's why sometimes I can be seated for 90 minutes, not saying one word and am very calm. Other times I stand for 90 minutes, don't stop communicating and am really mad at half-time because I need to change some psychological aspect of their play. It's very important to be able to communicate. Don't be afraid to be creative. Sometimes I arrive at training with a new exercise and I'm not sure if it's going to work. It always does.

[Referring to a picture of him hugging his players after the Carling Cup final] This looks like a hug but it's more than a hug. This is a hug of, "We did it!", a hug that we trust each other. Without words he's saying to me thanks, I'm saying to him thanks.

It's the biggest lie in football to say that managers need time to have success, because it's a lie we make to protect ourselves. We don't need a lot of time to bring success. If from the first day you're working with the right principles you don't need time.

Cooperation between leaders is absolutely fundamental. Sometimes I go to the club offices on a Monday and a secretary offers me her congratulations, but I say, "Congratulations to you!" Why congratulations to me? Everybody plays their part in the success.

The picture of me is of an arrogant and tough man which I can accept, but people who work with me know that I'm a defender of teamwork. Football at the top level is different in terms of quality money and media interest but the human principles are the same. Every single structure and idea - communication, cooperation, motivation and feedback - are the same and lead to success. We are ready for everything. We are ready for enjoying great moments and difficult moments. Maybe in the future there will be a picture of myself and Frank Lampard crying after a big defeat. Together we are ready for everything - so can succeed against all odds.

Jose Mourinho was speaking during a visit to the Peres Centre for Peace in Tel Aviv - an organisation which, amongst its activities, runs the Twinned Peace Soccer Schools programme bringing together Israeli and Palestinian children to play football in mixed teams. Since his visit Mourinho has been appointed a special envoy for sport and peace and is personally sponsoring two more schools which will open next year while Chelsea are looking at ways of providing support. Information about the centre and its work is available on www.peres-center.org.

Chelsea yesterday also announced CLIC Sargent as its official charity. More information is available on www.clicsargent.org.uk or telephone 0845 301 0031 or www.chelseafc.com.