In an interview with sports broadcaster Fox Sports earlier yesterday afternoon local time, former Inter central defender Lucio has recalled how his move to Inter in the Summer of 2009 came about.

The former Brazilian national tea defender joined Inter from German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich after then manager Louis Van Gaal considered him to be out of the club’s project, something Lucio admits shook him.

“It is known that he is a manager who does not like Brazilian players, and in 2009 it was no different. While I was engaged in the Confederations Cup I received the news, through the newspapers, that he would not count on me in the 2009-10 season.

“As captain of the Brazilian national team and defender of Bayern Munich I couldn’t help but feel shaken, even if I didn’t want to convey this feeling to the group.

“It was very difficult to manage and overcome that moment, but I was rewarded. I still had to talk to Van Gaal, because my commitment and responsibility was towards Bayern.

“It was not easy to knock on his door, even though I knew he didn’t count on me. Despite his decision, I always maintained dialogue, truth, respect.

“It was obvious that he would have decided to not count on me and it was known that Bayern and Inter were talking. I was a professional, I waited for the negotiations to take place. Bayern is a very important club for me.”

Lucio, who also represented Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus during his career, then spoke on his three years spent with Inter, the first year of which was particularly memorable as the Nerazzurri achieved a famous treble.

“Our Inter team was obviously created with a pillar like José Mourinho in charge. We were a team on a mission. Inter had not won the Champions League in 45 years.

“Everyone was very focused on winning which is why Mourinho managed to manage that group to achieve the great triumph that was the treble.

“It was very difficult and the press criticised Mourinho’s methods and even the team itself. For me, the biggest difficulty was to play the Champions League final against Bayern.”

The now 42-year-old, who only retired last year after a stint with Brasiliense in the lower leagues of Brazil, made a total of 136 appearances across all competitions for Inter.

In just over 12,000 minutes on the field, the 2002 World Cup winning defender scored five goals, tallied nine assists and help the team to keep a number of clean sheets.