Jose Mourinho: 2010 was a special year for the Special One

Jose Mourinho admits he is unlikely to be able to better his achievements as Inter Milan manager with Real Madrid after he was named as the Fifa World Coach of the Year on Monday.

The Portuguese coach, who guided Inter to an historic treble last season, beat off competition from Spain’s World Cup winning manager Vincente del Bosque and Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola to land this year’s prize.

Mourinho took over from Manuel Pellegrini as Real Madrid manager last summer and his side are currently two points behind Spanish league leaders Barcelona, but the 47-year-old concedes 2010 was a special year for the self-proclaimed Special One and does not envisage being able to repeat the clean sweep with his new club.

“Better would be impossible,” said Mourinho on Monday. “Because we won everything with Inter, doing better becomes unattainable. There’s an opportunity to match that, but it’ll be extremely difficult.

“We’ve got fantastic opponents blocking our path in the Champions League and an incredibly strong Barcelona side up against us in domestic competitions. It’s not easy, but we’re going to try.”

In typically confident fashion, Mourinho hailed his achievements to date as “sensational”. He said: “It’s incredible. I’ve earned this prize after just ten years as a head coach. I’ve gone from an assistant coach to the best in the world in ten years, so what I’ve achieved is quite sensational.”

And the Real manager picked triumphing in the Champions League final with Inter as his highlight of a memorable 2010. He added: “We won the Champions League which, both for a club coach and a club itself, is the ultimate achievement.

“In Inter’s case, it was something they’d not done for 50 years. For that reason, that final in the Bernabeu – which would go on to become my home ground – ended up being perfect, thanks to everything that went with it. That’s what will stick in my mind.”