plus 1, Leonardo took Inter Milan job after advice from Mourinho - CNN

Leonardo took Inter Milan job after advice from Mourinho - CNN

Posted: 29 Dec 2010 08:25 AM PST

Brazilian coach Leonardo has taken over in the Inter Milan hot seat from Rafael Benitez.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Leonardo reveals he took advice from Jose Mourinho before taking Inter job
Leonardo took charge after Rafael Benitez was sacked in the week before Christmas
Mourinho led Inter to a historic treble last season before going to Real Madrid

(CNN) -- Inter Milan's new coach Leonardo has revealed how he consulted with former Nerazzurri boss Jose Mourinho before deciding to take on the job.

The Brazilian has spent much of his playing and coaching career at city rivals AC Milan but after his chat with Mourinho was convinced he was ready to take over from the sacked Rafael Benitez.

"I called him because I don't think you could come to Inter without going through him," Leonardo told the Italian club's official website.

"We exchanged ideas on lots of things and I now share his opinions on lots of things.

I called him because I don't think you could come to Inter without going through him
--Leonardo

"He knows everything about this place, because he's still here in spirit -- he left everything here. I'm very happy about what he told me. I rate Mourinho as a true world-beater," he added.

Football's heroes and villains of 2010

Mourinho left in late May for Real Madrid after leading Inter to the Champions League, Serie A, Italian Cup treble.

Despite Inter's faltering league performances this season under Benitez, Leonardo is convinced that he does not need to make wholesale changes.

"Inter are a ready-made team, there's no need to start over. This side has won everything, but in its own way," the 41-year-old former World Cup winner said.

"It has its own identity and the players know what to do, when to play and how to play. My job is to create the right conditions for them to be able to do that well."

Benitez went after complaining, in the aftermath of Inter's Club World Cup triumph, that club president Massimo Moratti had not given him the funds to strengthen his injury-hit squad.

Leonardo believes there is enough quality at Inter to repeat last season's successes.

"I've noticed that all the players here, and not only the players, are hugely motivated," he said.

"We don't have to invent anything here, just get back to doing the great things that Inter has already shown it can do over the last few years."

Inter go into the second half of the Serie A season 13 points behind leaders AC Milan, but with two games in hand, and into the last 16 of the Champions League where they will play Bayern Munich in a repeat of the 2010 final.

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New Kansas Gov. Brownback plans cost cuts, job-growth initiatives - Birmingham Business Journal

Posted: 13 Jan 2011 06:48 AM PST

New Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wants to cut more than 2,000 unfilled state government jobs and eight state agencies as part of a reform plan.

However, Brownback — who gave the 2011 State of the State address Wednesday night in Topeka — also has plans to create jobs and reform tax codes.

"The days of ever expanding government are over. My proposed total state spending for the next fiscal year will be more than three quarters of a billion dollars lower than this year," he said, according to a transcript. "This will be the first time that the total or all-funds state budget has been cut since 1972."

The proposed cost-cutting also includes setting up an Office of the Repealer to pinpoint regulations or statutes that are costly, outdated and ineffective and should be repealed. Core services should be delivered in more innovative, efficient ways, he said. Brownback is set to present his fiscal 2012 budget to the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.

But his administration's top priority will be "creating jobs that provide more income and opportunity for Kansas families," Brownback said.

His proposals to boost the state economy include:

• Eliminating corporate tax subsidies given to a few.

• Setting up a three-year, $105 million University Economic Growth initiative seeking to boost job growth in sectors that include aviation, cancer research, animal health and engineering. It will require each university to come up with half the cost of the program initiative through private sector or shifted funds.

• Forming the Governor's Economic Council, which he will chair, of successful Kansans who are private-sector leaders. They will make sure strategies are aligned and accountable throughout Kansas economic development agencies and initiatives.

• Providing full financing for Wichita Fair Fares, which he called a key economic growth initiative for south-central Kansas.

Brownback said his plans also require a Kansas tax code that bolsters the economy, so he'll work with legislators to reset the tax code, aiming to cut income tax rates.

He also gave an overview of proposals to better finance education in the state and address a related lawsuit, as well as address health care and state pensions.

Brownback described his five overall goals as increasing net personal income, private-sector employment, the portion of 4th graders who can read and the percentage of high school graduates who are ready for college or careers, as well as cutting the portion of Kansas children in poverty.

"We are certainly subject to global currents largely out of our control, but we are not rudderless," he said. "I believe these goals to be significant and achievable; successfully reaching them will change countless lives for the better and make the future of Kansas brighter."