Former Chelsea midfielder Oscar may be still 26, but he can talk as if he was an ex-player. Completely forgotten in China, the Brazilian is rarely remembered by the media, even though sometimes there’s a chat about his successful times at the London side.
Oscar was interviewed by ESPN Brasil this week, just to talk about his former boss José Mourinho. It was under the Portuguese boss that the midfielder won his last trophies for the Stamford Bridge side, so he had a lot to say about what he learned with him.
“Mourinho likes to work the psychological side of the athlete,” Oscar told Vladimir Bianchini from ESPN Brasil. “He always wants the player to be happy to play.”
“When you think you will not play, you play. When you think you’re good, he spares you a game. He likes to leave the player really well focused in the game and wanting to show the best football. He has this way to do this.”
The Shanghai SIPG player couldn’t stop praising the former Chelsea, and now Manchester United, manager who he had a great relationship with: “Sometimes it seems difficult to work with him, but he does it because he demands the most, he takes you out of the comfort zone, he’s very good indeed.
“I had a lot of good times with him, he was a guy who helped me grow a lot in football, he trusted me and praised me a lot to the press, I really enjoyed working with him.”
Oscar even compared Mourinho to the current Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. Even though he only spent six months playing under the Italian boss, Oscar believes he saw a difference.
“Mourinho is much more of a character than Conte. He demands a lot, but is very funny in the day-to-day. When the team is winning, he plays a lot with the players and asks if the family is well. Even makes some jokes.”
