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Vertonghen praises colourful character Jose

Cape Town - Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen says football needs Jose Mourinho, but has refused to reveal whether he would be keen to play under the Portuguese manager.

The former Ajax defender, who joined Spurs from Ajax Amsterdam in 2012, has praised Mourinho for all of his successes and played down his media histrionics.

Speaking ahead of facing the former Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid boss, at old Trafford on Saturday, the Belgian said: "He is a great coach first of all, and he has done great things with different teams.

"He has shown he is a very good coach and a colourful character - but football needs that.

"He is a good manager and he says things in the media. Does that wind me up? Not really. It's part of the job and he plays it the way he wants to.

"Would I want to play for him? He's not my manager so I'm not going to talk about this."

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