Mourinho is a father figure for me – Burkina Faso coach

Burkina Faso’s Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte says Jose Mourinho is “like a father” to him and revealed he received a phone call from his illustrious compatriot ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.

Duarte’s side take on record seven-time champions Egypt in the first semi-final in Libreville on Wednesday after beating Tunisia 2-0 in the last eight at the weekend.

“He is like a father to me. He is someone who completely changed the mentality of Portuguese football,” said Duarte of the Manchester United manager at a press conference on Tuesday.

“He is a friend and he called me yesterday. The last time I spoke to him I was here in Gabon and we had played against Portugal,” added Duarte, 47, who had a spell as coach of Gabon before returning for a second stint with Burkina Faso.

“Gabon always brings me luck when it comes to having Mourinho on the phone.

We have spoken three or four times in the last three years.”

Duarte was at Uniao de Leiria towards the end of his playing days when Mourinho had a spell in charge there just before his coaching career took off with Porto.

Source: AFP