Jose Mourinho criticized his team’s attitude after Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League in humiliating fashion on Thursday night.
Following a 2 – 1 defeat in the North London Derby, Spurs relinquished a 2 – 0 first leg advantage against Dinamo Zagreb.
Mislav Orsic scored a hattrick to defeat Spurs 3 – 0 in extra time, and 3 – 2 on aggregate. This is a team whose coach was recently sent to prison.
Jose Mourinho reacted in classic Jose Mourinho fashion by throwing his players under the bus.
Read: Liverpool Grind Out 1 – 0 Win Over Wolves
“In the 90 minutes and in the first half of extra-time, there was one team that decided to leave everything on the pitch. They left everything there – they left sweat, energy, blood and at the end of the game, they had even tears of happiness. Very humble, very committed and I have to praise them.
“I’m disappointed with the difference of attitude between one team and the other,” Mourinho said after the 3-2 aggregate defeat. “I’m sorry that my team – I belong to that team – is the team that didn’t bring to the game not just the basics of football but, I believe, the basics of life, which is to respect our jobs and to give everything.
“I don’t need external critics because I feel deeply hurt with what happened with my team. I don’t want to say much more than that. On behalf of my team, in spite of some of them maybe not sharing my feelings and emotions, I can only apologise to the Tottenham supporters.
Read: Thomas Tuchel Getting The Best Out Of Chelsea
“I just left Dinamo’s dressing room where I went there to praise the guys and I feel sorry that one team that is not my team won the game based on attitude, so I feel more than sad. Football is not just about players who think they have more quality than others. The basics of football go beyond that, the basics of football is the attitude and they beat us on that.
“On the other side, my team didn’t look they were playing an important match. But for me, it is for the respect I have for my own career and my own job. Every match is an important match for me and I believe that for every Tottenham fan at home, every match matters and another attitude is needed.
“To say that I feel sad is not enough because what I feel goes much further than sadness.”
