Mourinho Reveals How He Placed Lionel Messi In Jail
Former Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho has revealed how he placed Lionel Messi in jail during his time as manager at Inter Milan.
The draw which was a 2009-10 UEFA Champions League semi-final saw Inter Milan defeating Barcelona 3-1 at San Siro before holding them down to a 1-0 at Nou Camp.
Speaking on how Liverpool could hold down Messi at Anfield yesterday, Mourinho was quoted recommending the tactics he used at Inter.
“The situation for us was very clear, which was [Messi] cannot play alone when he comes in between the lines,” Mourinho explained in a video posted to The Coaches’ Voice YouTube page.
“So this player here [Cambiasso] must be a player totally in control of this area, always in communication with the left-back.
“There is a moment where he becomes yours and I stay in the zone but if in a certain moment you are attracted by other positions and Messi goes in these positions in between the lines, you have to decide to go.
“But then if you decide to go, you have to defend [Dani] Alves. So there is a combination of ideas but basically everything was around not letting Messi play.”
After the game, the Italian press lauded Inter’s tactical set-up, saying Mourinho’s side had put Messi in “jail.”
“I remember after the game … in Italy they were using the word ‘gabbia’, the real translation is like a jail to Messi because in the end we didn’t play man-to-man but Zanetti, Motta, Cambiasso, everybody was responsible for any position that Messi could go.”