Serie A side Inter picked up a dramatic 3-2 win over Napoli at the weekend and this puts them in good stead, ahead of a huge Champions League opener against Real Madrid.
More than that, the plot lines are already in motion. The tie will see Jose Mourinho will go up against his former player in Cristian Chivu. They won the Champions League together in 2010 and it is fitting they manage against each other in the same competition.
The Portuguese was asked about the upcoming tie and he had some praise for Chivu.
When Mourinho was asked about whether he expected Chivu to become a great manager, he said โ via TMW: โItโs hard to say. When theyโre footballers, the focus is on the game. I had a lot of contact with him when he was coaching the Primavera, he came to visit me in Rome, and I sensed his passion. Sometimes Iโve met former footballers who have become coaches, but I donโt see the empathy for a difficult job; in him, I saw passion.โ
Mourinho also expressed surprise at the fact that Inter havenโt won the Champions League yet.
Praising the clubโs project, he said: โA great team, a truly great team. A team of six years, from Antonio Conte to Inzaghi and now with Chivu, thereโs always been the same playing system and the same player profile. They can play with their eyes closed, they have quality, maturity, and physicality. The surprise of recent years is that they havenโt won the Champions League.โ
This would be the first of the two games that will see Mourinho play against his former clubs. Later in the campaign, Real Madrid will take on Roma in the Italian capital too.
Kaustubh Pandey โ GIFN
