Jose Mourinho Brilliantly Breaks Down How He Stopped Lionel Messi During Inter Milan’s Run to UCL Win in 2010

• Former Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho has lifted the lid on how he came up with a plan to stop Lionel Messi and Barcelona in 2010
• Mourinho faced Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League and ended up winning on aggregate en route to beating Bayern Munich in the final
• The Portuguese manager has explained that his plan involved putting Messi in a 'jail' to limit his influence on the game

Jose Mourinho is a coach who doesn't need an introduction. Mourinho has established himself as one of the greatest coaches ever with a CV that speaks for itself.

Always known for his uncanny tactics, Mourinho has the knack of grinding out results when least expected.

His best accomplishment to date is arguably guiding Porto to the 2004 Champions League win, but the Inter Milan's triumph in 2010 sits right up there as well.

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Inter Milan were outside contenders for the title, considering the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona were also in the competition. They also drew their first three group games against Rubin Kazan, Barcelona and Dynamo Kyiv.

Mourinho faced his former employers in the round of 16

Barcelona beat them in the second leg, but they managed to secure wins against the other teams to guarantee progress to the round of 16.

In the knockout stage, the Nerazzuri turned on a new leaf, starting with Mourinho's former employers, Chelsea. CSKA Moscow was then dispatched in the quarterfinals, thus setting up a rematch against Barcelona in the semifinals.

Facing Barcelona again was a daunting task for Mourinho.

The Catalans had just won the sextuple and had one of the greatest squads ever assembled. Lionel Messi was their architect-in-chief and Mourinho explains how he came up with a plan to stop the Argentinian.

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"There was a combination of ideas, but everything was around not letting Messi play. In Italy, they were using the word 'gabbia'. I think the real translation is like a jail to Messi. Because in the end, we didn't play man-to-man, but Zanetti, Motta, Cambiasso and everybody was responsible for any position that Messi could go."

The idea worked as Inter Milan beat Barcelona 3-1 at San Siro, before putting on a defensive masterclass at Camp Nou to proceed 3-2 on aggregate. They later went on to beat Bayern Munich in the final.

Jose Mourinho reveals the toughest team he has ever faced in his managerial career

Sports Brief had earlier reported that iconic Portuguese tactician Jose Mourinho had named Scottish giants Celtic as the team to have given him the most stress throughout his illustrious coaching career.

Mourinho revealed Martin O'Neil's 2003 Celtic side as the most formidable team he has ever faced in a career which has seen him annex a staggering 26 major trophies.

During his fledgling years as a manager, Mourinho inspired Porto to the finals of the 2003 UEFA Cup against Celtic - which ended in favour of the now AS Roma boss and his charges after extra time.