Jose shows his humble side

Jose Mourinho added yet more glitter to his CV this season with a Treble at Inter Milan – capped with victory in the Champions League final. He is likely to head for pastures new and will do so, says Richard Williams in the Guardian, proving that he can show humility when the need arises.

He did not take off his medal and stuff it in his pocket. He wore it proudly. He did not walk away to hide himself, as ostentatiously as a man hiding himself could possibly contrive to do, in the shadows of the dugout. Instead he went straightaway to applaud the fans dancing in ecstasy on the northern face of the mighty Bernabéu, then hugged his players and shook hands with their opponents. He hoisted his son, José Jr, wearing a black and blue No10 shirt, on to his shoulders, before setting him down, picking up the match ball and a Portuguese flag, and making his way to embrace his president.

This time José Mourinho was on his very best behaviour, as he had been all week. Once again he was starring in his own movie. But he was showing the world – and his employers, present and future – that he could also win one of football's biggest prizes with dignity.

There could have been no better setting for this display of his talents than the home of an organisation whose nine victories in the European Cup give them a special identification with the greatest of club tournaments. The near-certainty that it will become Mourinho's own next home only added to the evening's resonance. He will, he said, be meeting Florentino Pérez, the president of Real Madrid, today. He may or may not have been winding us up. Probably not. The contract is said to extend over four years, at ¤10m (£8.7m) a year, and the pre-season gathering is scheduled for a country-house hotel in County Kildare in the first week of August.

The call comes for Cole

There are still a couple of play-off games left, but focus really is turning to the World Cup. England take on Mexico in a friendly on Monday with a number of players eager to impress and force their way into the final 23. Joe Cole is one such player and the Daily Telegraph's Kevin Garside feels Fabio Capello must give the midfielder his chance.

Allow me to join the chorus of approval for Joe Cole. There must be a place for Cole when Fabio Capello names his World Cup 23 next week. Capello has two genuine No. 10s in his squad. One is Wayne Rooney, the other is Cole. Ten is football’s magic number, the shirt managers throw to men who can make a difference, to players not bound by convention, who see the pass that others do not, in whose imaginations a difference game plays out.