Chelsea icon, John Terry, has disclosed that in 2005, Jose Mourinho obtained a video of Bolton’s training session.
He mentioned that then Bolton manager Sam Allardyce was observed providing guidance on how to manage William Gallas in the recorded material.
In a statement shared by talkSPORT, Terry recounted that Allardyce was directing his Bolton squad to target the Chelsea defender, and they viewed the training footage at Chelsea. He suggested that Mourinho utilized this information to gain an advantage over their Premier League rivals.
He said, “We were watching a video, and suddenly Sam Allardyce appeared in Bolton’s training, saying: hit Gallas, he’s not good in the air. He was spitting and talking in that way through the microphone. It was like, my goodness, who gets footage from someone’s training ground? I still don’t know where Mourinho got this footage!”
Chelsea subsequently triumphed over Bolton with a score of 5-1 in the league match, contributing to their Premier League title victory. Terry also expressed feelings of guilt regarding Mourinho’s departure from the club, stating:
“I would leave that pitch in a coffin for him. You’ve got grown men, tears running down their face, not really understanding why. And even still today I’m like, that’s my fault. When we drew the Champions League game, my man scored. If I didn’t let that person score, would he have lasted another couple of years? Who knows?”
“I still feel kind of responsible for that, if that makes sense. It’s just disappointing how it all ended, if I’m honest. I absolutely loved him and adored him and was more upset than anyone, to be honest.”
Jose Mourinho departed from Stamford Bridge in 2007 following a disagreement with Roman Abramovich. He made a return in 2013 after his tenure at Real Madrid, but his second stint lasted only two and a half seasons before he was dismissed.