Barcelona, Inter and a Jose Mourinho masterclass | OneFootball

Barcelona and Inter Milan meet in the Champions League semi-finals this evening, fifteen years on from an unforgettable tie between the teams.

That season, Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan stood in the way of Barcelona’s defence of the Champions League.

There was narrative aplenty.

The Catalans conquered Europe the previous season, waltzing to a historic Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey treble under a fresh-faced Pep Guardiola. Their novice coach had been picked ahead of Mourinho as Frank Rijkaard’s replacement, despite a résumé that paled in comparison to the Portuguese’s.

Guardiola, however, was one of them. A Culer. A fan favourite. In an institution with deep-rooted loyalties to their own, Mourinho was an outsider – even given his past links to the Camp Nou.

Mourinho’s ties to Barcelona ran far further back than his emergence as a candidate to replace Rijkaard. Mourinho’s coaching career began as a translator, working for Sir Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto before following the Englishman to Barcelona. After learning under the guidance of Robson and Louis van Gaal in Catalonia, Mourinho moved on to begin his own coaching career.

By 2008, and that sliding doors moment, Mourinho had won the UEFA Cup, Champions League, and back-to-back Premier League titles among his managerial honours.

Still, Barcelona chose Guardiola. The rest is history.

Guardiola led Barcelona to treble success, while Mourinho took charge at Inter Milan. His debut season ended with the Scudetto and a place in the following season’s Champions League.

Inter eliminated Chelsea on route to the last four in 2009/10, where holders Barcelona awaited. Though underdogs, a clinical counter-attacking performance saw Inter win 3-1 at the San Siro in the first leg.

Inter knew they could beat Barcelona, but the return did not follow the blueprint of the first leg. Instead, the Italians lined up to frustrate Barcelona, with Mourinho’s masterclass in pragmatism and shape the antithesis of Guardiola’s tiki-taka.

The Nerazzurri defended doggedly in deep defensive lines. Lucio and Walter Samuel held firm. Elsewhere, Thiago Motta and Esteban Cambiasso were combative in midfield, cutting the supply line to Lionel Messi. Anytime the Argentinian found himself in a yard of space, an Inter shirt was snapping at his heels. Meanwhile Samuel Eto’o, ousted at Barcelona the previous summer, displayed a selfless team-first endeavour against his former team.

The plan, however, was so nearly undone after 28 minutes. A wayward arm from Motta caught Sergio Busquets in the face and the Spaniard needed no invitation to hit the turf. A theatrical tumble, a red card issued, and Inter were down to ten.

Inter’s injustice only reinforced their mantra. Mourinho’s best sides have often adopted a siege mentality and at the Camp Nou, it was out in full force. After Motta’s red card, Inter operated without a forward.

Come and break us down if you can.

Julio Cesar – incredibly booked in the 34th minute for time-wasting – saved from Messi on the stretch before half-time.

“During half-time he [Mourinho] was still convinced we would reach the final. His confidence was contagious,” Inter captain Javier Zanetti recalled.

Barcelona’s frustration grew. Inter operated with little to no interest in building attacks, with no-nonsense clearances designed to beat the Barcelona press. Amid wave after wave of attack from the Spaniards, Inter unashamedly booted, blasted and belted balls clear.

Barcelona became desperate and a roll of the dice finally brought reward. Gerard Pique, thrust forward to provide presence, spun sharply to fire home in the 84th minute – game on.

A frantic finale saw Bojan Krkic have a goal disallowed, but Inter held on to reach a first European Cup final since 1972.

Inter had withstood the storm and Mourinho’s post-match celebrations live long in the memory. He sprinted around the Camp Nou turf with arms aloft, gesturing to the Barca supporters who had disrespectfully labelled him “The Translator”.

The Portuguese was the perfect pantomime villain to the football purists, stifling a spellbinding Barcelona side with contemporary Catenaccio.

Resilient, robust, and sublimely stoic.

Inter’s season ended with Italian football’s first treble, as the Nerazzurri beat Bayern Munich to win the Champions League for the first time in 45 years.

Mourinho: “It was the most beautiful defeat of my career.”

In a career of huge highs, it’s that night in Barcelona that Mourinho recalls with the utmost fondness.

“To play with 10 players against Barcelona, it becomes epic. You need heroes. You need to have the best out of everybody,” said Mourinho in a new BBC Sport documentary – How to Win the Champions League: Jose Mourinho.

“I think I was brilliant in the way I organised the team. We defended with everything we had. We defended with hearts, with souls, we gave absolutely everything.

“It was the most beautiful defeat of my career.

“The fact that we played with 10 men for so long, makes it absolutely incredible. If I could choose one of my most emotional performances, in a career of more than 20 years, I would choose that one.”

Read – Every footballer to play for both Barcelona and Inter Milan

See more – Remembering Mourinho’s Inter side that beat Bayern in the 2010 UCL final

Follow The Football Faithful on Social Media:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok