José Mourinho has revealed what he whispered in Pep Guardiola's ear after Thiago Motta was sent off when Barcelona and Inter met in the infamous 2010 Champions League semi-final.
I Nerazzurri went into the second leg at the Camp Nou defending a 3-1 lead. Despite only enjoying 13.6% possession, Mourinho's side limited the hosts to just four shots on goal, losing 1-0 - a result that saw them progress into the final.
This feat was made even more heroic by the fact that they had to play for over an hour with ten men after Motta was dismissed for a soft, second yellow card in the first half.
Soon after the midfielder was given his marching orders, Mourinho crept up behind Guardiola - who was giving tactical instruction to Zlatan Ibrahimovic - and spoke softly into his ear. The words uttered by the former Chelsea boss had remained a mystery - until now.
Jose Mourinho has revealed what he said to Guardiola during Inter's famous clash against Barca in 2010:
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"I said it was the most wonderful defeat of my career: we didn’t lose 1-0 but we won 3-2 in epic conditions. I told him: Don’t start the party yet, this game is not over.” pic.twitter.com/WO4OggfJqS
Yes, that's right. In an interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport, Mourinho finally revealed what he said to Guardiola on that fateful night.
"When Busquets fell stunned to the ground, I was between my bench, Barcelona's and the place where Thiago Motta was expelled," he said.
"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Barcelona bench celebrating it as if they had won, Guardiola calling Ibrahimovic to talk about 11 against 10 tactics.
"I simply said to him 'don't party now because this isn't over yet.' This defeat was the most delicious of my career. On the field we have to find solutions and we don't lose 0-1, we won 3-2 in epic conditions!"
The result is remembered as one of Mourinho's greatest triumphs as Barcelona were revered as the greatest team in the world at the time. Inter made the most of their unlikely victory as well, going on to defeat Bayern Munich 2-0 in that year's final courtesy of a brace from Diego Milito.
Source : 90min