Real Madrid coach Mourinho still desires a return to English football

The Portuguese coach also says that Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League adventure will by ended by Real Madrid.

Jose Mourinho says Tottenham's Champions League adventure will end in defeat to Real Madrid.
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LONDON // Jose Mourinho has reiterated his desire to return to the English Premier League to tackle "unfinished business".

The Portuguese coach left Chelsea in 2007 after a hugely successful spell at Stamford Bridge before winning the Serie A title and Champions League with Inter Milan last season.

Mourinho, currently at Real Madrid in Spain — where he is contracted for another three years —  maintains he is planning to return to England sooner rather than later.

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"I miss England and my next job will be in England," he told The Sun newspaper in Britain. "There is unfinished business.

"And I think England wants me back, no? It was the most enjoyable time of my career."

Focusing on Real's fortunes, Mourinho believes his team has the edge on Tottenham and is confident he can end the London club's Champions League run in the quarter-finals.

Spurs' debut Champions League campaign has already delivered famous wins against Inter Milan and AC Milan, and the reward for Harry Redknapp's side is a glamorous last-eight encounter against the Spanish giants.

Mourinho concedes he has some misgivings about coming up against the tournament dark horses, but admits he is at least approaching the tie with more relish than he did last year's last-16 encounter with former club Chelsea.

"I didn't want Chelsea-Inter, because last season it was difficult to play against Chelsea," he told BBC Radio 5. "I did it, and I did everything I could to help my team, but I was not comfortable. I don't like to play against my friends.

"Any team is difficult and any team is a motivation for us. Tottenham are a good team: they beat Inter, they beat Milan, they have ambitions, they have a very good team and a good manager.

"You can feel that it is a happy team, and happy teams are dangerous teams."

Asked whether Spurs could produce an upset and go all the way, Mourinho added: "It's possible. They have a not very easy draw, but they have not had an easy draw from the beginning."

Mourinho's former captain at Chelsea, John Terry, hit the headlines this week after being restored as England skipper a year after losing the armband following revelations about his private life.

The Portuguese refused to comment on the rights and wrongs of the matter, but admitted that England remain in good hands no matter which player dons the armband.

"I don't want to go in that direction, I don't know completely the process. I just think, because I know him, he's a great captain," he said.

"I have never worked with Rio Ferdinand before, but I have no doubts that Rio is also a great captain.

"For some national teams it is difficult to choose [a captain], in England they have so many people with the character to be captains — Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard.

"The English national team is full of big personalities and big players."