Jose Mourinho has reflected upon his two year spell in charge of Inter and has explained why he left the club to join Real Madrid.
“Inter is my home and Moratti remains both my President and friend. It’s as if he was my family, and I feel his family in a special way: everyone at Inter is really special,” he explained in an interview with Tiki Taka.
“My job also consists of finding the empathy I had with Inter fans. I give my all. I join a club, I take the shirt, I wear it and I live with that shirt. I create empathy with fans and antipathy with opponents, but I believe this empathy is important for creating a bond and a special relationship with them.
“Afterwards, of course, when you win and trophies arrive, this empathy can be transformed into passion, which is what it was.”
He then recalled some of the biggest matches of his tenure in charge of the club.
“There were crucial matches in the race for the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and Champions League. The victory in Kiev, for example, was the start of everything.
“The defeat in Barcelona was the best defeat of my life. After practically two weeks between the Finals of the Coppa Italia and Champions League, it almost looked like a movie with ‘the perfect end’ to a story that was fantastic for me.”
Next he spoke on his exit for from the club almost immediately after the Champions League win.
“I knew it would go how it did. The first year, after winning the league, which was almost normal for Inter, I understood the emotion of their fans so I could only imagine, after experiencing that emotion after the semi-final against Barcelona, what the city of Milan would be like after Madrid.
“Everyone in the squad, not just the players but also everyone one, was a big family: I preferred to leave before returning because it was already a difficult situation in the dressing room and I realised it would’ve been even more difficult on the bus.
“I knew that if I came back, I would’ve said ‘no’ to Real Madrid for the third time, but I had in mind to win La Liga and the Premier League, and I didn’t want to miss this third chance with Real.”
He then briefly spoke on whether a return to Italy is in his plans in the future.
“I haven’t worked for seven, eight months so we’ll see what happens, but I don’t think I’ll come back to work in Italy. It’s a sensation, but I don’t think my future will be in Italy.”
He concluded by speaking on Antonio Cassano, who was also on the panel alongside him.
“I laugh because I like him. I enjoyed having him as my opponent. Usually you have fun with your own players and not your opponents, but he was a very talented one and very fair.
“He’s someone who amuses people and he’s good for football. I remember Cassano, a talent that could’ve been better than what he was.”
