Jose Mourinho may only have spent two years at Inter Milan, but he certainly made his mark during that time.
‘The Special One’ enjoyed a hugely successful spell in charge of the Italian giants between 2008 and 2010, most notably guiding them to Champions League glory in a treble-winning season before leaving for Real Madrid.
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Under Mourinho, Inter lifted the European Cup for the first time in 45 years, while this marked their third triumph in the competition.
This figure has remained unchanged in the 15 years since their final victory over Bayern Munich, but it could change this week.
The Serie A outfit head into Saturday’s Champions League final clash against Paris Saint-Germain at the Allianz Arena with a chance to establish themselves as Europe’s leading force.
Meanwhile, head coach Simone Inzaghi is bidding to become just the third manager to lead the club to European glory, where he would join Mourinho and Helenio Herrera.
And should the Italian cement his place in Nerazzuri history with a win in Munich, some fans may be left fearing the worst.
This is because the last time they won the competition, they found themselves without a manager just a week later.
In May 2010, Mourinho wrapped up an unprecedented domestic Serie A, Coppa Italia and European cup treble with a 2-0 victory over Bayern in the Champions League final at the Santiago Bernabeu.
But immediately after the landmark win, he made the shock announcement that he would likely be departing the club.
Having already tasted European glory with Porto in 2004, Mourinho admitted: “I want to be the only coach that wins the Champions League with three different sides.
“It is more likely I’ll leave rather than I’ll stay. I’ve been really happy at Inter, not so much in Italian football for the way in which I’ve been treated.
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“I’ll love Inter forever. I have big motivations with the risk (I am taking). This is the thing that makes me a different coach, with ambitions. Should I leave, I leave Italian football.”
Fast forward six days, and the Portuguese manager was unveiled as Real Madrid’s new boss, with a record-breaking compensation package being agreed to see him head to the Spanish capital.
The two clubs settled on a financial deal worth a reported €8m (£6.8m) to release Mourinho from his contract at the San Siro.
At the time, this represented the biggest fee paid by a club to poach a manager from another team, and still ranks in the top ten of the most expensive managerial hires of all time.
The huge deal brought to an end a stellar two years in Italy for Mourinho, who claimed four major trophies during this time.
After winning Serie A in his first season, the Chelsea great followed this up by helping Inter to become the first and only Italian club to win the European and domestic treble in the following campaign.
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Back-to-back league titles and Coppa Italia glory to go with European glory saw the legendary manager go down in history, and he later revealed just how hard it was to leave after such an achievement.
Mourinho famously left in a separate car of his own after their Champions League final victory, which he admitted was because he feared changing his mind had he returned to Milan with the team.
He told the Athletic in 2020: “I was on the pitch with them in the celebrations, in the medals, in the cup. I was with them but then I didn’t go back to the dressing room because I didn’t want to say goodbye.
“It was too hard for me and I didn’t want to leave with them to Milan because people were saying I had a contract with Real Madrid. It was not true. I had an agreement, but I did not have a contract signed.
“I really wanted to go to Real Madrid at that time. I really wanted to try to win the Spanish league after the English and Italian leagues.
“But I feared that if I go back to Milan with the team and, with the reaction of the players and the fans, I was afraid of not being able to leave. I can say that I ran away. I ran away from them.”
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“A few days later, I signed with Real Madrid.”
And while Mourinho never managed to add a third Champions League title to his collection in Spain, he still delivered trophy success with the club, winning the Copa del Rey in 2011 and LaLiga in 2012, before departing the club in 2013.
