Former Barcelona striker Hristo Stoichkov says that Jose Mourinho was already an impressive figure during his time working as an assistant to Sir Bobby Robson at the Camp Nou.
Mourinho worked with Robson during the Englishman's season at Barcelona and Stoichkov saw the dynamic between the pair up close.
The Bulgarian, a Barcelona legend who won the European Cup with the club as part of Johan Cruyff's dream team, explained that although Mourinho already had a wide range of knowledge and was acting as a coach, he never thought himself above Robson and held him in the utmost respect.
Stoichkov told L'Equipe: "Don't think that Mourinho was a simple interpreter or assistant, he was already a coach.
"But he never thought that he was worth more than Robson, he respected him.
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"Mourinho understood everything, he knew everything about our team and the opponents."
In Robson's only season in charge at Barcelona, before he made way for Louis van Gaal, he led the Catalans to success in both the Copa del Rey and the European Cup Winners' Cup.
However, Robson's Barcelona missed out on La Liga, with Real Madrid finishing on 92 points, while the Catalan giants were second with 90 points.
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