Jose Mourinho amused by sprinkler gag before Champions League opener against Inter | OneFootball

Jose Mourinho saw the funny side when he was handed a garden sprinkler before Real Madrid’s Champions League tie with Inter. According to Goal.com, the prop was presented during his pre-match media duties in Valdebebas.

The Real Madrid manager was addressing reporters before a high-profile opener against his former club when an Italian journalist produced the gag gift. Footage quickly spread across social media.

The joke pointed back to the 2010 semi-final second leg at Camp Nou. Inter lost 1-0 and finished with 10 men, yet progressed 3-2 on aggregate after Mourinho’s side had won the first leg 3-1 at San Siro.

As the whistle went, he sprinted on to celebrate with his players and away fans. Camp Nou staff turned on the sprinklers to cut celebrations short, but Mourinho kept going amid the spray, an image that went global.

Madrid now turn to Europe after a disappointing domestic result against Real Betis. Mourinho said: "I want to win [tomorrow]. I can tell you that I want to play well, but I don't want to play well as we did against Real Betis and then lose."

He added: "We are in a phase where we'll play eight games, and the goal is to qualify [for the next phase]. I want to focus on this single game."

There is pressure to deliver, with Madrid having missed the latter stages in each of the past two seasons. Mourinho has returned aiming to bring major silverware back to the trophy room.

Source: Goal.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”