Jose Mourinho Recounts How He Was Smuggled Into Chelsea Dressing Room in Laundry Basket to Deliver Team Talk

Jose Mourinho Recounts How He Was Smuggled Into Chelsea Dressing Room in Laundry Basket to Deliver Team Talk

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:06 PM
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  • Jose Mourinho recounted an iconic moment when he ignored a UEFA ban to deliver a team talk in a laundry basket during his time at Chelsea
  • Nicknamed the 'Special One' Jose was wheeled into the team's locker room for a team talk during a Champions League quarterfinal game against Bayern Munich in 2005
  • His team talk proved golden as Chelsea beat Bayern to reach the semifinals but were undone by Luis Garcia's infamous 'ghost goal' in the last four against Liverpool

AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho has the penchant for pulling a stunt in the most extraordinary of circumstances even when it breaks the law.

The 59-year-old former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United manager took a trip down memory lane to recount an incident during his first stint at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho was slapped with a two-game ban by the European football governing body, UEFA, for accusing then-Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard of visiting the referee's room during a round-of-16 tie between Chelsea and the La Liga giants in 2005.

Jose Mourinho, tactics, team talk, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, dressing room, locker room, laundry basket, 2005, Champions League, UEFA
Jose Mourinho once delivered a team talk in a laundry basket during his first stint with Chelsea back in 2005. Photo credit: @josemourinhotv @goal
Source: Twitter

The ban meant he would miss Chelsea's quarterfinal clash against Bayern Munich. However, Mourinho hatched a plan to defy UEFA's ruling.

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"I go to the dressing room during the day so I was there from midday and the game is seven o’clock. I just want to be in the dressing room when the players arrive,” he told beIN SPORT as quoted by SPORTBible.
He continued: "I went there and nobody saw me. The problem was to leave after. And Stewart Bannister the kit man put me in the basket. It was a little bit open so I could breathe."
"But when he is taking it outside the dressing room, the UEFA guys were following and desperate to find me so he closed the box and I couldn’t breathe! When he opened the box I was dying! I am serious! I was claustrophobic, I promise! It’s true!"

Mourinho's team talk did the magic for the Blues as Chelsea went on to win the tie 6-5 and set up a huge semi-final with Liverpool.

Jose Mourinho walks onto the field to demand rival player be sent off

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Roma boss Jose Mourinho caused a scene during his side's friendly clash against Championship side Sunderland after he entered the pitch to demand a red card be shown to a rival player.

The match staged at the Estádio Municipal de Albufeira saw the reigning Europa Conference League winners outclass the English side to secure a 2-0 hard-fought win.

Felix Afena-Gyan and Nicolo Zaniolo were both on target for the Italian giants, with two of their goals coming late in the second half of the encounter.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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