John Terry has revealed to Jamie Carragher that former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho refused to refer to Liverpool by name in team meetings. ...
John Terry has revealed to Jamie Carragher that former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho refused to refer to Liverpool by name in team meetings.
A new book recently claimed that Mourinho almost joined Liverpool before accepting a better offer from Chelsea in 2004, which signalled the start of a rivalry between the two clubs.
The Portuguese boss has had a hugely successful career in football, winning eight league titles in four different countries, two Champions Leagues, a UEFA Cup, a Europa League and multiple domestic cup competitions.
Chelsea and Liverpool had some brilliant battles down the years, both domestically and in Europe, but Mourinho often struggled to get the better of the Reds despite their higher league position.
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“I always felt it frustrated [Chelsea] because you were so much better than us,” Carragher said to Terry on Sky Sports’ Off Script podcast.
“I don’t think we were ever on a level-playing field, I think you were always a better side. I think you knew that we knew that.
“But the fact we could get results against you at that time, certainly in Jose’s era when even maybe Manchester United who were better than us and Arsenal who were better than us, you used to beat them with ease at that time.
“Was that a little part of it? The frustration that you couldn’t beat us even though you knew you were far better than us in a lot of areas.”
And Terry says that during their rivalry Mourinho would refuse to reference Liverpool by the club’s name. “I remember the team talks that Mourinho gave before we played after we won the league,” Terry responded.
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“I think we were something like 20 or 21 points in front and he was going ‘there is no way you can lose this game against these’.
“He couldn’t even say the name Liverpool, he couldn’t even pronounce the team, it was like ‘you do not lose to these today, we’re so much better than these’.
“That still sticks there as well and it was frustrating because [Liverpool] always found a way to kind of settle the game in the away fixtures, in those big Champions League games as well, but those home games, for us going into the stadium I’ve said over the years, the atmosphere was probably the best I’ve ever experienced as a player.
“But yeah frustration was probably the word because we obviously won leagues and things like that, so we obviously felt we were the better side, but just couldn’t break you down at times and obviously got knocked out on a couple of occasions.”
Football 365
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