TEN years on, the secret is finally out.
A decade ago, Jose Mourinho – then manager of Inter Milan – infamously whispered in the ear of rival and Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola during the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.
Jose Mourinho cheekily whispered into the ear of opposing boss Pep Guardiola while the Spaniard gave instructions to Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Mourinho went wild at the final whistle in the second leg as his Inter Milan side progressed to the final
Inter Milan’s Diego Milito and Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar celebrate as Barcelona’s Pedro looks on in 2010
But, until now, nobody knew what was really said.
Mourinho had got one over counterpart Guardiola in the first leg of the tie as Inter ran out 3-1 winners at the San Siro.
The Portuguese gaffer would have been sweating when current Chelsea star Pedro gave Barca the lead with a crucial away goal in the 19th minute.
But Inter hit back, and in some style thanks to goals from Dutch ace Wesley Sneijder, Brazilian Maicon and Argentine striker Diego Milito who completed the comeback.
Inter knew the job was only half done ahead of their visit to the Nou Camp with the Catalan giants confident in the knowledge that a 2-0 win would see them through and give them a shot at retaining their crown in the final.
In the cauldron that is the Nou Camp it is often hard for away teams to settle early amid the noise and passion of just shy of 100,000 fans.
And Inter got off to a terrible start, Thiago Motta being handed a straight red card after 28 minutes after a coming together with Sergio Busquets.
Motta stuck out his right arm which seemed to brush the face of holding midfielder Busquets who hit the deck.
It seemed a soft red card to many onlookers.
But from a moment of weakness, Mourinho saw an opportunity as the Barcelona staff and players celebrated the dismissal as if the tie had already been decided.
Mourinho told Gazzetta dello Sport: “When Sergio Busquets fell almost knocked out, I was diagonally between our bench, his [Guardiola’s] and the place where Motta was sent off.
“Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Barcelona bench celebrating it as if Guardiola had already won calling Ibrahimovic to give instructions.”
Even though his side were facing the daunting task of keeping out a star-studded Barca line-up for an hour with ten men, Mourinho had faith in his well-drilled Inter outfit.
He walked up behind Guardiola – while the Spaniard was addressing Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and whispered: “Don’t throw the party, the game is not over.”
Jose Mourinho was mobbed by delighted fans at the airport near Milan on his return from Barcelona
Inter Milan’s Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho argued with Barcelona’s goalkeeper Victor Valdes after the Champions League semi-final second leg
It was wise words from the former Chelsea boss as his side held on until Gerard Pique’s goal in the 84th minute.
It was not enough as Barca could not find a crucial second, despite Bojan coming close in injury time, that would have seen them progress on away goals.
Instead Mourinho, who described the second leg as his “most beautiful defeat”, took his side to the final and beat Bayern Munich 2-0 to seal a historic treble before leaving Italy in the summer for Real Madrid.
Mourinho described the second leg defeat as the best of his life as Inter Milan went through 3-2 on aggregate
Jose Mourinho leads Tottenham virtual training session on exercise bike as stars self-isolate due to coronavirus
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
