"My record in the Europa League is good, I played it twice and won it twice"

Tottenham will start their Europa League journey after several seasons in the Champions League this Thursday. After overcoming several previous matches, some almost miraculously, they will play against the Austrian LASK Linz.

In the prematch, Jose Mourinho recalled his past in the second tier European competition, which he won with Porto - when it was the UEFA Cup - and Manchester United.

The manager puffed out his chest and reminded the press that he is unbeaten in the competition: " I won it with Oporto and Manchester United. My balance is good, I have never been eliminated. I lost matches in the group phase, but I won the tournament".

Mou did not avoid talking about Gareth Bale, already recovered for the cause by the London team after his debut against West Ham. "No player has remained the same for so long. We are talking about seven years of difference, not months. It's not a Gareth Bale thing, it's every player in the world, everyone changes," he said.

The coach denied that the change would get worse, although not better. For him, Gareth is a different player: "It wasn't change for the better or for the worse. It has been an evolution of his qualities or his style. Even of his position. Of course he is not the same, he is a different player".