In an interview with The Athletic, former Inter manager Jose Mourinho has reflected on leaving his position as Inter manager to become the manager of Real Madrid in the Summer of 2010.
Mourinho took charge of the Nerazzurri in 2008 and spent two memorable years in charge of club, the second of which he led the club to arguably the greatest achievement in their history, the treble.
“When I last spoke to Materazzi after the Champions League final it was like hugging all the players, which I tried not to do,” the current Tottenham Hotspur manager explained.
“I was on the field with them in the celebrations, when we received the medals and raised the trophy I was with them but then I didn’t go back to the locker room because I didn’t want to say goodbye.
“It was too difficult for me and I didn’t want to go with them back to Milan because people said I had a contract with Real Madrid. It wasn’t true.
“I had an agreement, but I had not signed a contract. I really wanted go to Real Madrid at that time. I really wanted to try to win the Spanish league title after winning the titles in England and Italy.”
He then went on to imply that had he returned to Milan with the team things could have turned out differently.
“I as afraid that if I returned to Milan with the team, and with the reaction of the players and the fans I would not be able to leave. I can say that I ran away. I ran away from them.
“A few days later, I signed the contract with Real Madrid and only later did I go back to Milan and I met President Moratti for dinner.”
He then spoke on the different perspectives that many of the players in the squad had that season with some at the end of their careers, some getting close to it, some in the middle and some just at the beginning.
“There are different perspectives for players when they are approaching the end of their career. There are players who just want to be there for another couple of years and earn a few million more before they leave.
“Then there are other guys with a different perspective which is: let me try to reach an important moment in my career, let me try to do something I’ve never done.
“It was really a fantastic achievement and one of the reasons I was so happy. I felt that my joy and my emotions were not for me, but for them. It wasn’t about winning my second Champions League, but about making their dreams come true.”
In conclusion, Mourinho revealed he could write a very long book detailing all that went on during his two years in charge of Inter.
“I could write a 1,000 page book on my two years at Inter. It may be that one day I will do it, but first I have to ask permission from the guys because there are many forbidden stories.”
