Jose Mourinho has revealed that his return to Stamford Bridge as Inter Milan manager during the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League campaign was driven by a desire for revenge against former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. In a recent Netflix documentary, the Portuguese coach admitted that he viewed the high-stakes encounter not as a match against his former players or the club he once managed, but as a direct confrontation with the man who had sacked him in 2007.
Reflecting on the emotional weight of the fixture, Mourinho stated that he felt a sense of pleasure in opposing the Russian owner. He emphasized that the game was a personal battle, explaining that he was playing against the person who dismissed him rather than the squad he had previously coached. Inter Milan secured a 2-1 victory in that match, with Diego Milito opening the scoring and Esteban Cambiasso netting the winner after Salomon Kalou had briefly leveled the score for Chelsea.
Mourinho expressed deep satisfaction with the outcome, noting that he knew how much the club and winning meant to Abramovich. He remarked that he left the stadium happy knowing the owner would be upset, asserting his belief that football fundamentally belongs to players, coaches, and fans, and that others are merely intruders. Inter Milan went on to win the return leg 1-0, eventually claiming the UEFA Champions League title that season.
The documentary also shed light on the deteriorating relationship between the two during Mourinho's initial tenure. Mourinho recounted an incident where Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon approached him, appearing embarrassed, to ask him to manage a football match between the hotel staff and boat staff in Sardinia because the owner's team was losing. Mourinho refused the request, citing his commitment to training and preparing for the following day's matches, an act of professional focus that reportedly left Abramovich unhappy. Following his stint at Real Madrid, Mourinho returned to manage Chelsea again in 2013, remaining at the club for two and a half years before his second departure.
Can you go there and to win a game for him?’ And I told him, ‘no, Peter, I have training today, I have to prepare for tomorrow.
He was at the club for another 2.5 years before getting sacked.
