Inter boss Jose Mourinho claims it was far more difficult to win a Scudetto in Italy than it was to win the Premier League with Chelsea.
The Special One claims that there is a lack of quality and tactical awareness outside the top three clubs in English football.
He told News of the World: “I would say that at the top the level of English football is higher than in Italy.
“Manchester United are better than Inter, Liverpool are better than AC Milan and Chelsea are better than Juventus, to give three examples.
“But from there down Italian football is much stronger. In England I won a lot of easy games, by margins that leave no room for doubt. Here (in Italy) this has never happened. On the contrary, the smaller teams were always capable of causing us problems.”
“In 2004-05 with Chelsea it was a different success to all the others. It was a more emotional title for me because I saw the emotions surrounding me. Chelsea hadn’t been champions for 50 years and people felt the success in a way which I’ll never forget.
“By the following season the title was a one-horse race. The impetus achieved the previous season made us unstoppable, a bit like when I won my second title with Porto.
“The best example was when we played at Old Trafford 11 points ahead of Manchester United. We lost and came away with an eight-point advantage. We didn’t become champions when I said, it’s true, but I wasn’t far out.
“At no time was any direct opponent less than seven points behind us. I would say it was a very easy title. We won it without suffering.”
He added: “I remember a game against Genoa at home. We started with 4-3-3 and they closed up with four defenders.
“I changed to 4-4-2 and they responded with three centre-halves. I changed it again and they reacted automatically as if they had been expecting every change we made.
“We drew 0-0. They blocked the game in such a way that we could still be playing and not score a goal. The teams from the lower half of the table who come to the San Siro all have very strong tactical and physical trumps.
“Serie A has very unique characteristics which make it extremely difficult.”
[Source: News of the World]
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