Manchester United: Success, failure and Mourinho’s three-season syndrome

Inter Milan

Mourinho’s time at Inter Milan only lasted two years, robbing us of another potential meltdown. His brief spell in Italy did provide most of the Mourinho’s trademarks though. He got on the wrong side of managers across the league. Carlo Ancelotti, Claudio Ranieri, and Luciano Spaletti were all in Mourinho’s firing line at one point or another.

Mourinho also built a squad full of winners, integrating players like Mario Balotelli, Wesley Sneijder, and Samuel Eto’o into the side.

Again, Mourinho was criticised for his apparent refusal to play younger players, with Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro claiming that young fullback Davide Santon would have to leave the club in order to play regular football and get into the 2010 World Cup squad.

Mourinho also took umbrage with the refereeing in Serie A, at one point getting fined and banned by the Italian Football Federation for making a handcuff gesture after a game in which Inter had two players sent off.

He crowned his time at Inter with a Champions League win over Bayern Munich. The highlight of his run, however, was the masterful handling of Pep Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona side in the semifinals. This performance over two legs is probably what convinced Real Madrid to sign Mourinho in the summer of 2010.

Upon winning the Champions League, Mourinho was melancholy. When asked how he felt, he said:

"“Sad, as almost for sure it’s my last game with Inter.”"

Mourinho left Milan a hero, and since then reports have emerged that he regretted leaving the club. So far, it remains the only club outside his home country where he has left on good terms.