Bradford boss Phil Parkinson rejected Mourinho's early handshake before full-time

Football
By Mirror | Jan 25, 2015
Bradford boss Phil Parksinon (centre left) rebuffed Jose Mourinho's (right) handshake during their FA Cup tie

Bradford manager Phil Parkinson snubbed Jose Mourinho's early handshake to avoid tempting fate.

Chelsea boss Mourinho walked over to Parkinson to congratulate him on his side's stunning 4-2 victory over the Premier League leaders in the FA Cup on Saturday.

But when he walked over, there was still three-and-a-half minutes left on the clock and despite being two goals ahead, Parkinson was not yet counting his chickens.

He revealed that he did not want to exchange the pleasantries until Bradford's name was safely into the fifth round.

Parkinson said: "He [Mourinho] came over to shake hands but at that point there was still three-and-a-half minutes left and I wasn't getting drawn into that.

"You know that if Chelsea got one [goal] back even at that late stage, and with their world class players on the pitch, they could easily have got a second [goal] so we wanted to concentrate on what we had to do and see the game through."

Mourinho did return to congratulate the Bradford team and staff, including Parkinson, in the changing rooms after the game.

Parkinson says that it was a "touch of class" for the Portuguese boss to be so humble after the most shocking defeat of his illustrious career.

He said: "He came in the dressing room afterwards [though] and shook everyone's hands - crediting the lads for their performances, which I thought was a real touch of class."

Mourinho saw his side toss away a 2-0 lead after Gary Cahill and Ramires had put his Premier League leaders in control of the tie.

A goal from Jon Stead just before the break and ­second-half strikes by Filipe Morais, Andy Halliday and Mark Yeates sent Bradford marching into the fifth round.

After the game, Mourinho admitted that he was "ashamed and embarrassed" by the result.


 

Share this story
Arteta urges Arsenal to seize destiny in crucial Spurs showdown
Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal F.C. to “write their own destiny” in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. after slipping in the Premier League title race.
Title-hungry Leopards seek to bounce back to winning ways
AFC Leopards will be aiming to return to winning form this weekend as the SportPesa Premier League resumes with a decisive round of fixtures.
Magical Kenya Open: Jastas Madoya reveals what fuels his passion for golf
The spiritual player advises young people to cultivate discipline if they want to reach the lofty heights of playing in the MKO in future.
NOC-K signs strategic MoU with Japanese Olympic Committee
The deal aims at strengthening high-performance systems, athlete development, sports science collaboration, and leadership education between Kenya and Japan.
Youthful Kinoti Kiara crowned African fencing champion
Kiara beat Egypt’s Hamza H. Abuhalwa, Mohamed El Bounjaimi of Morocco and Togo’s Ilan Tchaa Arou to the continental title.
.
RECOMMENDED NEWS