Jose Mourinho has revealed the biggest tactical achievement of his career - and it's one that he thinks people have forgotten.
Mourinho has had a storied managerial career, beginning back in 2000 when he had a brief spell in charge of Benfica.
But it was during his spell at Porto, which saw him lift the Champions League in 2004, that caught the attention of Chelsea.
Mourinho has since won a trophy at every club he has managed except for Tottenham. And now, he is out of work after being sacked by Roma last month.
Last Thursday, the 61-year-old was a guest invited on the Vibe with FIVE podcasts, hosted by legendary Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand, and he was quizzed on one of his greatest achievements in football – knocking Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona out of the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010.
In a masterful defensive performance at Camp Nou, Mourinho’s Inter kept the deficit to 1-0 – despite playing with 10 men for most of the contest – to win the semi-final on aggregate, one of the greatest triumphs in modern football.
Inter then went one better and beat Bayern Munich in the final to lift the European Cup for the first time in 45 years.
But Mourinho said that one of his other achievements prior to that infamous semi-final second leg was better – the first leg.
He explained: “No, because the first one when we beat Barcelona 3-1 was better. And people forget it.”
“It was 3-1, and it could have been four or five. That was the match that took us to the final. And the second leg was a consequence of the first.”
Barcelona went ahead in the first leg at the San Siro, with Pedro opening the scoring inside 19 minutes.
But Inter went into the half-time break level, thanks to Wesley Sneijder’s strike.
Maicon then made it 2-1 in the 48th minute after tapping in Diego Milito’s cutback, before Julio Cesar made a crucial save to keep out Rafael Marquez’s header.
But Milito would have the final say, nodding his header over the line from close range to secure victory.
And even though it could have been a greater margin, the 3-1 victory was eventually all that Inter needed.
