MOSCOW - A visibly delighted Jos Mourinho spoke on Sky Sport Italia after watching his team reach the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 2-0 aggregate victory over CSKA Moscow. "It's five consecutive victories in the Champions League now; we are deservedly and comfortably through to the semi-finals," said the Portuguese.
"We can talk of a total change in Inter's history in the Champions League. This is a mentally different team with confidence and ability. It's a Champions League Inter now. Whatever happens in the semi-final or the final, Inter will be full of confidence going into next season's Champions League. If we don't win it this year, Inter will win it in the next few years.
"The team is completely different in its approach to games. Defensively the team is solid. We could have done better in terms of ball possession and on the counter-attack today, but the team controlled the game and this was very important for a team that, apart from Bayern Munich, is the only team still with a chance of winning league, cup and Champions League. It's a different Inter, but we want something more now. All my players deserve applause.
"Personally it's the fourth time I have arrived in a Champions League semi-final. I won one, I lost another on penalties, and I lost the other because there was a goal that wasn't a goal. Now we will see. Inter are the third team I have taken to the Champions League semi-finals. Who do I prefer to get, Barcelona or Arsenal? Whichever is the best team. They will have the advantage of playing the return leg at home, but we are in form. If we get Barcelona we get the champions of Europe. If we get Arsenal, it's the same. They are just as strong a team and they have never won the Champions League so they will be motivated. We want to get to the final, but for now we can rest a bit and then prepare for our next match in the championship."
Speaking on Mediaset, Mourinho added: "We have two dreams now: to reach the final and win it. But the semi-final is the semi-final; we will play it and see how it goes. As for today's match, we scored our first chance and could have scored more goals, but we controlled the game and rested by keeping the ball. It wasn't an easy pitch, especially for those who had a few physical problems like Sneijder, but at the same time it was very important for us. The four defenders and two midfielders played an excellent game, they all gave their contribution. It's also important that we don't have any suspensions. It was the game we wanted. It might not have been a great game, but the real spectacle was reaching the semi-finals. There were five hundred Nerazzurri fans in the stadium here in Moscow, so we had the duty of reaching the semi-final, not playing spectacular football, and we succeeded. The dream is alive."
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