Why a journalist gave Jose Mourinho a garden sprinkler before Real Madrid’s big Champions League game against Inter Milan
Before Real Madrid’s big game against Inter Milan, a journalist gave Jose Mourinho a garden sprinkler as a fun reminder of one of the most famous nights in recent Champions League history.
Mourinho will coach his first Champions League match this season on Tuesday, when Real Madrid faces his old team, Inter, at the Bernabeu.
The “Special One” has great memories from his two years at Inter, especially a famous win over Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League. Back then, Inter reached their first European Cup final since 1972 by beating Barca 3-2 on aggregate. They celebrated under the sprinklers at Camp Nou—a moment that has become legendary.
To celebrate Tuesday’s game, Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri gave Mourinho that garden sprinkler as he left a press conference. Mourinho laughed, accepted the gift, and shook the reporter’s hand.
Before the press conference, Palmeri said on camera that giving Mourinho a gift was almost impossible but he would try anyway. “The mission is very difficult, almost impossible,” he said.
Back in 2010, Mourinho went all out preparing for Inter’s Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Even though Barcelona scored first, Inter came back to win 3-1 at San Siro with goals from Sneijder, Maicon, and Milito. A week later, Inter defended strongly, allowing just one goal and earning a spot in the final against Bayern Munich—which they won.
What was the secret to beating one of the greatest teams ever? Mourinho focused on stopping Lionel Messi. “There was a combination of ideas, but basically everything was about not letting Messi play,” he said in 2019. Instead of marking Messi one-on-one, players like Zanetti, Motta, and Cambiasso worked together to keep him locked down—like being in a jail.