Tottenham Hotspur coach Jose Mourinho accused his players of disrespecting their profession after leaving the Europa League after losing 3-2 in the aggregate score to Dynamo Zagreb on Thursday.
With their 2-0 first-leg victory in London, Tottenham were the favorites to reach the quarter-finals, but gave a lackluster performance to win Dynamo the qualifying card thanks to Meslav Orsic's hat-trick.
After criticizing the team after a disappointing performance in defeat to Arsenal at the London Premier League summit last Sunday, Mourinho suffered one of the most humiliating defeats of his illustrious coaching career.
While Orsic scored a stunning hat-trick that completed in overtime, Tottenham gave a disgraceful performance and collapsed after the break.
Mourinho told the "BT Sport" network that "if I overlooked the last 10 minutes of extra time where we offered something to achieve a different result, then during the 90 minutes and the first half additional, there was only one team on the field that gave everything he had, worked hard and played energetically and in The end cried from happiness. "
"On the other hand, it seemed that my team was not playing an important match, even if it was not the case for him, as it is important to me, at least out of respect for my career and my profession."
It is only the third time that Mourinho, who won the Champions League as a coach, has lost by 3 goals in Europe and the second with Tottenham after the big defeat by Leipzig in the Champions League last season.
The Portuguese coach also lost by 3 goals with Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund, but Thursday's loss was a lot worse.
Mourinho indicated that he felt sad about Tottenham's exit from a tournament he saw as an opportunity to win titles and return to the Champions League.
He added, "I was in a dynamo room to congratulate the team and I feel sorry that the winner, who was not my team, won a match by relying on approach and flexibility .. I feel sorry because my team was the party that did not present only the foundations of football but even the foundations of life, which is respect for our profession and providing everything. we've got".
Tottenham's season is in danger, as it is ranked eighth in the league before facing Aston Villa on Sunday, and despite the team reaching the final of the League Cup, its chances are not strong given that the other side is Manchester City.
Mourinho took charge after the departure of Mauricio Pochettino due to his title-winning record.
But after Thursday's defeat, the winning mentality that the club's owners wanted to instill in the team seemed quite distant.