The Portuguese coach acknowledged that the Rosario native was the rival who challenged him the most in his career and made him think the most
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José Mourinho, current coach of Fenerbahce of Türkiye, surprised everyone by highlighting Lionel Messi as the footballer who helped him evolve the most in his work. "He was the player who made me think the most every time I faced him," the Portuguese coach stated in an interview.
The history between them reflects the magnitude of that rivalry: they faced each other in 25 matches, with seven victories for Mourinho, nine for Messi, and seven draws. The first encounter took place in the 2005/2006 Champions League, when Barcelona eliminated Chelsea in the round of 16.
Ya desde el comienzo, Messi le demostró su calidad a Mou
After that clash in which the Rosario native caused Asier del Horno's expulsion, Mourinho exploded: "What can we do? Are we going to suspend Messi for acting? Yes, he acted. Catalonia is a country of culture and they know what acting is... it's great acting."
Over the years, the coach himself changed his perception. "He has been the most dangerous rival I've ever had. Every time I had to face him, I spent hours and hours thinking about how to stop him collectively, since it's impossible to mark him man-to-man," confessed the former coach of Porto, Inter, Real Madrid, and Manchester United.
Para Mou, Messi es imposible de marcar
Even in February 2024, The Special One went further when asked by influencer Ohm: "A player I would've liked to coach? I never got to coach Lionel Messi, but nobody can coach Messi. It's absurd to think you can coach him, because he was born with everything and already knows everything. He could teach me a few things. All you could say is that you had the honor of having him on your team."
