Coach Jose Mourinho was once worried when he lost striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who moved to Barcelona in the 2009/2010 transfer market.
Mourinho has coached Inter since July 2008, and has been a season with Ibrahimovic. Together with Ibrahimovic, Mourinho successfully won the Italian League title and the 2008/2009 Italian Super Cup.
In that season Ibrahimovic became Serie A’s top scorer with 25 goals. The total Swedish striker scored 29 goals for Inter in the 2008/2009 season.
Rumors of Ibrahimovic’s interest in Barcelona begin to blow. In the end, during the 2009/2010 pre-season session, Ibrahimovic decided to move to Barcelona. The decision that made Mourinho a little scared. In fact, in the 2009/2010 season Mourinho is targeting Champions League champions with Inter.
“My collaborators are ruined, they say ‘Without Ibrahimovic, it would not be possible to win the Champions League’ and his team-mates would not want to lose him either,” Mourinho was quoted as saying by Marca.
“I was worried. But in the end I said, ‘Maybe you left, and we won the Champions League.’ “It’s crazy, but in the dressing room the atmosphere changes,” Mourinho added.
Mourinho, who now handles Tottenham Hotspur, explains why Ibrahimovic moved to Barcelona because he wanted to win the Champions League.
Ibrahimovic seems tempted by the success of the Blaugrana with Pep Guardiola who won the Champions League in the previous season.
“The problem began in the preseason during the friendly match against Chelsea. For days the media said ‘Ibra went to Barcelona’, ‘Ibra did not go to Barcelona’,” Mourinho said.
“In that match he played 45 minutes, because he was a real professional. But in the dressing room he told us ‘I am going to Barcelona, I will win the Champions League’,” Mourinho continued.
In the end, Mourinho successfully realized his predictions with the 2009/2010 Champions League. Interestingly, before defeating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final, the Nerazzurri first got rid of Barcelona in the semifinals with a 3-2 aggregate.
The 2009/2010 season was the most successful for Mourinho with Inter before moving to Real Madrid. In addition to the Champions League title, Mourinho also won the Italian League and the Coppa Italia.
