Former Inter manager Jose Mourinho has praised former Nerazzurri President Massimo Moratti’s impact on the club.
Speaking in a DAZN documentary on Moratti, as reported by FCInter1908, the Portuguese tactician explained that he could not have had the success that he did with the Nerazzurri had it not been for Moratti.
Moratti was the Nerazzurri’s President for more than two decades between 1995 and 2016, steering the club through strong and weak periods, with the culmination being the Treble achieved during the 2009-10 season under Mourinho.
As the Portuguese explains, working with Moratti laid the foundations for him and his squad to achieve the feat, with the President having supported him and the team every step of the way.
The club have had their ups and downs since Moratti stepped down from his role, with the Scudetto won last season a major high point, but the Italian was undoubtedly a figure of great importance in a notable era of the Nerazzurri.
“His family opened the door to me,” Mourinho said of Moratti, “and I immediately felt a part of a family of good people who makes you feel at home.”
He continued, “The story with his father, his dream of doing historical things was an ambition shared with all of us – it made us people more passionate about our work. The Special One was Moratti: I arrived with this title, but he was the key man.”
On the treble season, Mourinho stated, “It was a team of players who knew how to be united, understood the essence of being a team – that’s the story. We put everything in, it was a psychologically and tactically very strong team, and in Barcelona we thought it was our time now.”
“I remember as if it were yesterday,” he continued, “Moratti with the Champions League seemed like he was holding a child in his hands. That cup has become a child to him. He knew perfectly well that it was the last hug between us, it was much more important than any words, it meant, ‘we made it and now friends for life.'”
