Inter remain in Mourinho’s heart
Jose Mourinho still speaks regularly to his former Inter Milan players in a decade-old
WhatsApp group, according to Samuel Eto’o.
The Cameroonian frontman had played under the Portuguese tactician during his two-season spell in Italy, in which Inter won two league titles and lifted the Champions League trophy.
But despite Mourinho having moved on several times since his fruitful tenure at the San Siro, the 56-year-old still speaks to the squad to discuss football scores.
Eto’o said: “This man (Mourinho) created a family at Inter Milan.
“We have a WhatsApp group which we all talk on every day, celebrating birthdays and reliving memories and Jose is always updating us on the scores around Europe, he is obsessed!”
Since his acrimonious sacking at Manchester United, Mourinho has been spotted travelling Europe to watch various matches while waiting for a new job.
The ever outspoken manager was present at the launch of a three-year global partnership between LiveScore and La Liga, and questioned about his time taking in action across the continent.
Mourinho is yet to find employment despite departing Old Trafford in December, although the Portuguese had revealed he plans to wait until he is approached with the perfect role.
“The most important thing for me is that my next role is with an elite club that has an ambition which challenges and excites me,” he said.
“I miss coaching a lot, but I won’t return to working just for the sake of coaching again.”
The Setubal-born tactician had taken the reins at Real Madrid following his success in Milan, and also spoke fondly of his time in the Spanish top flight.
He added: “I love La Liga and the pride I have to have won this fantastic league is massive. I may have left six years ago but trust me, spiritually, and in the manner I speak of La Liga, I am an ambassador even without the official title.”
Meanwhile, former Chelsea player Steve Sidwell has revealed just how devastated his teammates were in 2007 when Mourinho told them he had been sacked.
In an interview with Liquid
Football, the midfielder admitted Didier Drogba was reduced to tears when the Portuguese announced he would be leaving.
Despite winning back-to-back Premier League titles in his first two seasons in England and lifting the FA Cup the following year, Mourinho was dismissed by Roman Abramovich in September 2007.
Sidwell recalls how none of the players agreed with a decision which destroyed the ‘family culture’ in the Chelsea dressing room.
“I’ve been at a lot of clubs where the manager’s gone,” Sidwell said.
“The hardest one I had was at Chelsea when Jose left. A lot of the players had been with him for a long time and it was a real family culture.
“We played Rosenborg in the Champions League. We drew or lost at home and then we got called in the next day. We knew that something wasn’t right and Jose got sacked that day.
“We were all in the dressing room. The meeting was going on upstairs and it filtered down that Jose was going to go.
“He came down. I’d only been there a couple of months and he was going round one-by-on saying his goodbyes, there was people crying. Drogba was in absolute pieces, like tears. I think everyone was taken aback by it. He went round to every individual and everyone was sort of broken by it.”