Jose Mourinho claimed Daniel Levy is "unique" after being reminded about the nature of his Tottenham sack, which cost him a final appearance.
The Special One was axed in April last year, just days before the north London outfit were due to take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Their run to Wembley had masked a major drop off in the Premier League as Tottenham faced the prospect of finishing outside the top four.
Levy took the decision to dismiss Mourinho, placing Ryan Mason in charge until the end of the season. City would outclass Tottenham in the final, winning 1-0, before finishing seventh in the league and embarking on a prolonged managerial search. Mourinho, now at Roma, is again in a semi-final.
His Italian outfit are eyeing success in the Europa Conference League with Leicester City their opponents. Mourinho was reminded that his last semi-final success was soon followed by the sack, but said with a smile: "I'm not afraid to win. I think Roma as a city, Roma as a club, my players, the people who work in the club, for the work we all did to improve, I think we deserve to be in the final.
"Unfortunately football doesn't always give what you deserve and we have to beat a very good team. Am I afraid of winning the semi-final and being sacked - no. I have to admit in my long career, with so many things that happen, that one (the Tottenham sack) is quite unique. But I think also Mr Levy is quite a unique person in football."
Tottenham have since sacked Mourinho's successor Nuno Espirito Santo and replaced him with Antonio Conte. Nuno lasted just 17 games before Levy, again, axed a manager before hiring the Italian as they eye a return to the top four and the Champions League.
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Following his dismissal from north London the Portuguese coach had claimed he had no plans to return to management, before then being appointed the new Roma boss just four days later. “I have no plans,” he said when asked about returning to management. “I am going on with my normal life. I feel fresh. I feel calm.
“I am on holiday. I have more time to be doing my homework and analysis. I’ll wait to be back in football. Not just for the right club, but for the right culture. Maybe next season is premature, we will see.”
Mourinho has Roma sat fifth in Serie A, although they look set to narrowly miss out on the Champions League places. A European trophy could still be claimed however as the Special One continues to plot Roma's rise in Italy.
