It could’ve been so different

With the Twitter world in awe over the Jose Mourinho documentary on Monday night, it’s hard to think that the life of the former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss could’ve been so very different. Currently at Real Madrid, the Portuguese tactician has endured a mixed spell with the La Liga giants, landing just three trophies since his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2010.

Forced to compete with rivals Barcelona, arguably the most attractive footballing side in the world at present, it can be argued that Los Blancos have been living within the shadows of their Spanish counterparts, regardless of their Primera Division win last season.

However, prior to taking over the reins with Inter Milan in 2008, Mourinho was interviewed for the then vacant position with the Blaugrana. Narrowing down to just two targets, the Catalan outfit made a decision to appoint Pep Guardiola as their head coach ahead of the 49-year-old.

La Liga expert Graham Hunter touched upon this in the excellent Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World, in which the interview process with Mourinho between then Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Txiki Begiristain, now of Manchester City, is discussed.

The duo were impressed by his attention to detail and knowledge of the game, but shied away from appointing as a result of his lack of belief in the “Barca way”. Guardiola ended up succeeding Frank Rijkaard that day, while Mourinho took over at Inter and the rest, as they say, is history. 

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