José Mourinho has a busy summer ahead. Despite reaching the FA Cup final and finishing runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League, the Manchester United coach is already planning for next season and working with his backroom team to strengthen his squad. But before Mourinho and United get down to serious business, there is the little matter of the World Cup to contend with, and GQ caught up with the Special One in his capacity as a Hublot ambassador to talk about the tournament, the teams to watch, his favourite World Cup memories, and why he isn't ready to manage Portugal... yet.

GQ: Is the World Cup still a tournament that gets you excited?José Mourinho: Yes, of course. Everyone that likes football is excited about the World Cup. I used to say that the World Cup is more than football. For me, the World Cup and the Olympic Games are, at the social level, the two most incredible events in the world. And I think that even though I don’t believe the best football is played at that tournament. Why do I think that? Because in club football you have more time to work with the players and that is something international teams just don’t have.

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Who is your pick to win the tournament?JM: Players like [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo are so good that they can make their teams better than they are on paper. So I think Argentina and Portugal can do well. Brazil, because of their manager Tite, can play well tactically and defensively, but they still have that natural Brazilian talent. They will be a team to watch. And of the European teams, Spain looked really strong in qualifying. They have a mix of good experienced players and quality players. But you never know… there can always be a surprise at the World Cup.

Who, in your opinion, is the greatest World Cup player?JM: I can’t answer that. It is just too difficult. I was born in 1963, so the 1966 World Cup was too early for me, but I know my football history and players like Sir Bobby Charlton and Eusébio were the ones back then. From 1970 I remember all the teams and all the players and there are just too many to choose from… [Franz] Beckenbauer, Pele, [Diego] Maradona, the Brazilian Ronaldo. There are just so many and every four years there seems to be a new star. For me, it is impossible to compare players from different generations.

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You said your parents remember you watching the 1966 World Cup semifinal when Portugal lost to England... do you think Portugal can ever go any further?JM: Well, Portugal did get to the semifinal again in 2006 and we also won the European Championship in 2016, so that means we are among the best teams in the world. Portugal is the kind of country where new talent is always coming through and in the current national team I think we have even better players than in the squad two years ago. So Portugal can do anything. Can we be world champions? I don’t dare say that, but on our day we can beat anyone.

Was there a World Cup moment that inspired you to make football your career?JM: I would say the moment where the captain of the team lifts the cup. And the two cups that matter most are the Champions League and the World Cup. When you are a kid, or a young footballer, or even a young coach and you see a player lift the World Cup, you dream about it and being at that level. I thought about that a lot when I lifted the Champions League trophy…

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With so much football on TV and with club football having such a high profile, is the World Cup still the “special tournament”?JM: Yes, because it is still special. It is special for the fans, it is special for the countries and it takes place in the summer. I always think that when national teams are playing at the World Cup, the whole country stops. I think if you walk down any street in any country when their team is playing at the World Cup, you could steal a whole shop and no one would notice. It is such an amazing tournament that even people who are not football fans fall in love with the national team.

You coached a team at the Hublot "Match Of Friendship" in Basel that finished 11-11... Did you feel you got the most out of Usain Bolt?JM: [Laughs.] We agreed the result before the match... It had to be a draw! I think the size of the pitch was too small for Usain. I think it was designed to suit the older players who don’t run so much, but still have lots of skill. I think Usain’s best strength is his physicality, his speed and his aggressive movements, so he is probably better suited to a full-size pitch with eleven a side.

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A few years ago you said you would manage Portugal when you get tired... are you any closer to getting tired?JM: No. No! I am not close at all. I think being the coach of a club is my job. Because I need to play matches every week and train every day. I would say I am even further away from being tired now than I was a few years ago.

José Mourinho is a friend of the Hublot brand.