Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc has shed light on current Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s beginnings in football management.
Blanc spent the 1996/97 season at Barcelona as a player, where Mourinho was working as an assistant to then Blaugrana manager Sir Bobby Robson from 1996 onwards.
In an interview with beIN Sports, Blanc revealed that Robson often delegated managerial tasks to Mourinho and that began the Portuguese’s foray into football management.
"Robson understood very little Spanish and Mourinho helped him to communicate. He speaks four or five languages.
“At the end of a month the players asked him to change their training regime and Robson delegated the job to Mourinho because he could speak with the squad. I think that's where it all began."
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However, the Frenchman added that it wasn’t just his command over several languages or familiarity with the players that got Mourinho his big break, but rather his acute understanding of the game.
"We knew he was very intelligent and wanted to be a good coach.”
After Robson’s departure, current Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was given the reins at Barcelona and the Dutchman decided to keep the Poruguese as his assistant, further helping the now Chelsea boss to develop.
“Van Gaal arrived at the club and was smart enough to keep him on and learn from him. The rest is history”, the Frenchman concluded.
Blanc’s Paris Saint-Germain will face Mourinho’s Chelsea in their Champions League round of 16 tie when the competition resumes in February.
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