Mourinho: Simeone is not better than me

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has refuted claims that Atletico Madrid counterpart Diego Simeone is a superior coach.

Ahead of his side’s UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Atletico in the Spanish capital on Tuesday, the Portuguese brushed aside suggestions that Simeone was a better manager.

“I don’t agree,” he said. “It is difficult to compare coaches; in fact it is not fair to do so.

“It is not fair to compare someone with 15 years of experience as a coach to one with less than that. It is something that I don’t like to do.”

Fernando Torres makes a first return to Vicente Calderon since his departure for Liverpool in 2007 and, although the striker remains a fan of Atletico, Mourinho knows the Spaniard will remain strictly professional.

“Everyone wants to play,” he said. “Those chosen are happy and those who aren’t are not.

“I am not saying that Fernando Torres will start, I am saying that he never hides.

“We feel that every day. He is a real Atletico supporter, I would say a big one. We talk about Spanish football every day.

“But he is a professional. I have no doubts that the minutes he will be on the pitch he will do everything for Chelsea given the professional that he is.”

After suffering semi-final defeats to Liverpool during his first spell in charge of Chelsea, Mourinho insists those disappointments do not provide extra motivation.

“I have no unfinished business with Chelsea in in the Champions League,” he said.

“I did my best. I always do my best. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

“In one semi-final we lost on penalties and in the other we lost because of a goal that wasn’t a goal (a reference to a shot from Luis Garcia that was adjudged to have crossed the line), but that’s football.”