Thread by @FutbollHeritage

This is a thread on Jose Mourinho and some of his players who share a special relationship and bond with each other. They are his warriors who put their heart and body on the line for him.

RTs and Likes appreciated.

Let's start with one of Jose's most famous players. Zlatan Ibrahimovich. They met when Jose was at Inter Milan and the two instantly became close.

Zlatan describes how he felt toward Mourinho when he first met him:

"I liked him straight away. We clicked. We understood each other, and I realised straight away. This guy works hard. He works twice as hard as all the rest."

Zlatan would say about Jose Mourinho:

"If you don't have someone to motivate you, you do not want to fight, this is why we have coaches. I would have killed for Mourinho, for the motivation he gave me and how he stimulated me."

The pair parted ways at Inter where Zlatan joined Barcalona and had his famous fall out with Pep Guardiola.

"My problem there was the man, the 'philosopher'.

"That guys says whatever he wants. I like him. He's the leader of his army. But he cares, too. He would text me all the time at Inter, wondering how I was doing. He's the exact opposite of Pep Guardiola. If Mourinho lights up a room, Guardiola draws the curtains." -Zlatan

Jose and Zlatan would later reunite with each other at Manchester United where Zlatan was an important leader in the locker room.

"He's a winner, I'm a winner, and we both know what we want. We want to win. Wherever we go we win. And we all win."

Jose Mourinho has said about Zlatan:

"A player who gave me as much as Ibra will always be in my heart. He did a lot for Inter and Inter did a lot for him. I like seeing Ibra.... He is very special, he is one of the best Strikers in the world"

Jose Mourinho had many close relationships to his players at Chelsea. But one which stands out was his bond with Micheal Essien.

Jose Mourinho on Micheal Essien:

"He was not my player, he is my son – I am his white Daddy. “Tell you stories? I can tell you more than stories – feelings. That’s the feeling, he is more than a player for me."

“He made me fall in love with Ghana, with Accra where he lived, because then I had a better understanding of his mentality."

“I understand why as a player he was ready for everything, he was ready to die for the fellow players, for the club, for the manager, why he was ready to play like he did for me at Real Madrid with a knee that was not a knee anymore."

"It was a destroyed knee but with that personality, that desire and that mentality he suffered, always he suffered, but always with a smile. Michael smiles a lot. I loved so many of my players but I think Michael would be on the podium for sure.”

“Thats kind of emotional - It is very nice, we have a very good relationship. For him to say that about me is very special." -Micheal Essien's response to the kind words Jose said to him.

Essien was with Jose at Chelsea and he followed him to Real Madrid too. Jose was very protective of Micheal. As this article demonstrates:

Jose and Drogba share a special bond. Jose bought him to England and Drogba became one of the most iconic Strikers of his generation. They still share a special bond. During the 2018 World cup Drogba was on RT and told the crew to say "hello to my papa".

Jose heard this and replied:

"I gave him the biggest opportunity of his career to change from Marseille to the Premier League. So I gave him something very important but he gave me his sweat and his blood every minute he was on the pitch for me."

"So Papa is Papa and my kid is my kid – in spite of that he looks older than me!

The best way to summarise Jose's relationship with the Ivorian Striker is Steve Sidwell's report of How Jose parted with his Chelsea players in 2007 after winning back to back leagues with them:

"Jose came down to the dressing room to say his goodbyes and gave a speech about how proud he was and the relationships he built with the players, I looked around that dressing room and there were tears coming from the players’ eyes..."

"I’m talking Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard, you name it. There was not a dry eye in that room. Drogba was inconsolable. He went round and he embraced every player one by one I was only there for 4-5 months at the time and I remember thinking, wow, this is powerful."

Jose and Frank Lampard. Frank Lampard states a story of when he was showering and Jose told him something:

"All right, boss?’ I asked, wondering what I had done to invite an audience. ‘You are the best player in the world,’ he said without blinking."

"I was slightly confused as well as completely naked. Talk about feeling vulnerable. ‘You,’ he said more forcefully, ‘are the best player in the world,’” but added he had to prove it by winning trophies."

"I wasn’t the best player in the world...I felt a bit embarrassed. I wanted to get out of the shower and out of the conversation as quickly as I could. He had elevated me to a new level. I felt a massive surge in confidence. I was walking on air for the rest of that day.”

In a trbute to Lampard Jose said: "Frank was not just one of my best players ever, but more important than that was one of the best professionals. I think you need to be proud of what you did.... I know your mum in all this is laughing, because she knew the person you are first."

Jose and John Terry. He was Jose's captian on the field. His enforcer who would always try his best regardless of the situation. He loves Jose and Jose loved him.

John Terry says about Jose at Chelsea:

"He was the best manager, and the best coach as well. He did everything."

"He was the first one to come and revolutionise it at Chelsea. He would be the first in, 8am, he'd be the one setting the cones out, and you'd come in as players and he'd be out there, if it was pouring with rain, getting his session organised."

"Having his presence there was enough. He had his eyes on everyone and when he speaks no one messes about or plays with a ball. You listen to him, he was the boss. I would give everything for him. I would leave that pitch in a coffin for him and every player felt the same.”

Jose Mourinho and Mesut Ozil. They linked up at Real Madrid. Both were part of the historic Madrid team that broke the La Liga points and goal record together.

However Ozil revealed that Jose got the best out of him a different way than what he was used to:

Oh, are you giving up now? You're such a coward," Mourinho said, according to Ozil.

"What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do."

"You think two beautiful passes are enough. You think you're so good that 50% is enough. He pauses. Stares at me with his dark brown eyes. I stare back. Like two boxers at the stare-down before the first round."

"He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. And I love Mourinho actually."

That was an excerp from Ozils book. Jose was hard on him because he understood Ozil's potential.

It lit a fire under Ozil. He enjoyed some of his best football under Jose:

10/11: 10 goals, 29 assists
11/12: 7 goals, 29 assists
12/13: 10 goals, 24 assists

Jose on how to Manage Ozil:

"By one side, if you are just sweet with him, you lose your natural aggression because he's not naturally very strong physical player in terms of aggression."

"If you are too strong with him and you forget that he also needs a little bit of care, a little bit of love, you don't find that balance so I think it's about finding the right balance with him."

Jose was one of the few Managers able to strike that balance.

"Ozil is unique. There is no copy of him not even a bad copy. He is the best N.10 in the world. He makes things very easy for me and for his team-mates with his football vision and the decisions he makes. Everyone loves him and sees a bit of Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane in him"

Another player Jose had a shaky relationship with was Eto'o he has brushed shoulders with Jose many times as rivals and as allies. He is famous for his many callouts with Managers, most publicly Pep Guardiola. But he has always likes Jose.

"Everybody has an opinion on José without actually knowing him, I say thanks to God for giving me a season with him at Inter. We both understand that we were born to win together, so it is a good thing."

In an interview Eto'o reveals the difference between Pep and Jose as Managers:

Wesley Sneijder: "Eto'o played left winger for Mourinho (at Inter Milan). When the next manager came along and asked of Eto'o to play left winger, he replied 'No, I only do that for Mourinho'". One Manager had earnt his respect. In this game, respect is everything.