"The best defeat" of his life, according to Portuguese José Mourinho

Portuguese Jose Mourinho considered the "best defeat" of his life was in the Barcelona-Inter Milan match of the 2010 Champions League semi-finals, when the Milanese team, which he coached, despite losing 1-0, secured their spot in the final that they would win against Bayern Munich.

Mourinho, who is currently unattached after coaching Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, and Manchester United, admitted this in an interview provided this Monday by "Mediaset Italia", in which he reviewed his experience leading the Milan team.

When analyzing the treble achieved in 2010 by Inter Milan, Mourinho explained that "there were key moments in each of the three competitions" and referred to the feat achieved against Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, which he defeated 3-1 in the first leg in Milan, and then withstood Barcelona's push at Camp Nou, despite playing with ten men for over an hour.

"There was the best defeat of my life, against Barcelona in the semi-final; and from there, two weeks began in which we had the Italian Cup final (a 1-0 win against Roma), the decisive league title match (against Siena), and the 'Champions' final in Madrid," he recalled.

"It seemed like a movie with a happy ending. It has been a fantastic story," added the Portuguese coach, who left Inter after winning the treble to sign with Real Madrid.

He highlighted that the love of the Inter fans was enormous and that he chose not to return to Milan after winning the Champions League because, if he did, he wouldn't have the strength to leave the club.

"After the first year in Milan, when I won the 'Scudetto', I understood the passion of the Inter world. Imagine how the reception in Milan could be after winning the 'Champions'. Inter was a family, and saying no to a family is always difficult," he assured.

"If I had returned to Milan, I would have said no to Real Madrid for the third time in a row. But in my mind, I wanted to win the English Premier League, Serie A, and the Spanish League, and I didn't want to miss this opportunity," he concluded.