Jose Mourinho's unconventional man-management tactics that helped Inter Milan during their successful Champions League run in 2010 have been revealed in a new documentary.
A new BBC Sport documentary reveals Jose Mourinho's unusual man-management tactics, including a strategy he employed with Samuel Eto'o.
With Inter Milan preparing for a crucial Champions League match against Chelsea in March 2010, Mourinho used unconventional methods to motivate the Cameroonian forward.
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How Mourinho motivated Eto’o
Mourinho, aiming to extract the best from the forward, told Eto'o he was not going to play due to a perceived dip in form, leading to a week of intense discussions and pressure.
Eto'o pleaded with Mourinho, but the manager remained firm. Mourinho believed that the approach would elicit a strong reaction from the player despite the risks it carried.
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"Psychology is part of the job and is part of the game with the players," said Mourinho. The way you deal with the press is not going to win matches. Not at all.
"But, with the players? Yes. And, you know, I had I think, hundreds of players [during my career]. I always looked at each one of them as a different guy than the other guys. Every person is one individual.
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"I give you an example of a very strong-minded guy, Samuel Eto'o. The week before that match at Stamford Bridge, I fought him every day. Big, big discussions, big level of pressure.
"I told him: 'I'm not going to play you. You are not in your best level. You are not going to play'. He said: 'Please Mr, let me play'.
"I said: 'No, there is no 'please Mr' - you are not going to play. You are not performing. I don't trust you'.
"It was one week of an emotional work with him."
Mourinho's gamble paid off, as Eto'o scored the winning goal against Chelsea to win 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, securing Inter Milan's passage to the next round with a 3-1 aggregate victory.
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The former Inter boss attributes Eto'o's performance to the emotional work done in the preceding week.
"Samuel won us that quarter-final against Chelsea. He scored the winning goal at Stamford Bridge. He played a fantastic match," says Mourinho
"He was such a strong guy that I knew that he would react the way he did react."
Eto'o himself acknowledged Mourinho's influence, stating that he accepted the manager's demands for a disciplined role because of his respect for him.
Inter’s current iteration are in the quarter-final of the Champions League and could advance to the competition’s semi-finals by getting the better of Bayern Munich at San Siro.
Simone Inzaghi’s men claimed a 2-1 win in Munich.
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