JOSE MOURINHO paid an emotional tribute to Diego Maradona as he revealed the tragic legend used to give him phone calls of encouragement after he lost games.
Mourinho claimed it will be easy for the world to remember Maradona’s football by looking at videos online – but it will be impossible to replace the footballing great as a person.
Jose Mourinho has hailed Diego Maradona as a footballer but also as a personCredit: AFP – Getty
The Tottenham boss said: “There is Maradona and there is Diego.
“Maradona I don’t need to speak about because the world knows and nobody will forget. Diego is different.
“I can say he was a good friend of mine, but my contacts with him were on telephone and we met of course a few times, and he was a big, big, big heart. That’s the guy I miss.
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“His football you can find every time we miss him, with Google we will find. But Diego, no.
“I spent today telling stories to my guys about him and the time we spent together, and that’s the guy I miss.
“I especially miss the phone call that was always arriving after defeats and never after victories.
“He knew that after victories I don’t need a phone calls, he knew that in difficult moments he was always there.
“He was saying after defeats, in difficult moments, he was always saying ‘Mou, don’t forget you are the best’, and he was always with this kind of approach. So, I miss Diego.
“The people that are big friends with him, the people that share with him dressing rooms and are colleagues – these guys are privileged.”
Maradona passed away on Wednesday at the age of 60 due to a suspected heart attack.
He played for clubs include Napoli, Barcelona and Boca Juniors, as well as the Argentina national team.
Lorenzo Insigne lays flowers for Napoli legend Diego Maradona ahead of Europa League clash with Rijeka
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
