Messing around with Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a dangerous plan, so Jose Mourinho made sure he got the most out of it in 2009.
The pair of renowned footballing egos linked up at Inter Milan and despite fears that things may end badly, they actually won Serie A and a Supercoppa together.
Mourinho mastered Ibrahimovic on the touchline, and once pushed things as far as he possibly could.Getty
The Swede then left for Barcelona and missed out on a European treble with Mourinho, but will likely look back on their time fondly, except for one particular match.
That Italian triumph in 2009 saw Inter make it four titles on the bounce and cement their status as one of the very best sides in world football, spearheaded by Ibrahimovic.
With three matches to play of the league campaign, City rivals AC Milan lost to Udinese on Matchday 36, clinching the title for Inter, and their players wanted to go out and celebrate.
Already out of the Coppa Italia and Champions League, their season was essentially over, with the title confirmed and three more fixtures as a victory parade to follow their late night trip into Milan.
Mourinho maintained he was against the night out in the city before the match but there was an indication that Ibrahimovic may have been at fault for him ‘losing his power’ the next day.
The former Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker entered the match chasing the league’s prestigious Capocannoniere (top scorer) award for the first time, but into the second half he appeared to change his mind.
Esteban Cambiasso and Mario Balotelli had the game won at 2-0, and with two matches left for Ibrahimovic to jump to the top of the scoring charts, he decided to cut his losses, seemingly feeling the effects of the night before.
However, when he asked to come off, Mourinho ignored him. First replacing Luis Figo and drawing some annoyed reactions from Ibrahimovic.
Then, he took off Balotelli in the 74th minute, and the Swede went from irritated to irate, only to channel that energy into a goal two minutes later.
That minor respite of a celebration didn’t last long, though, with Mourinho then fully trolling his star man a further two minutes on by swapping his goalkeepers for seemingly no other reason than to wind up Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic was seething
The biggest surprise was that Mourinho just managed to hold in a laugh
With all three subs used, the striker realised he’d have to see out the match, and looked at the sidelines in a mix of disbelief and fury.
Mourinho’s tactics had the desired effect, though, with Ibrahimovic eventually clinching the top scorer award, by one goal, from Marco Di Vaio and Diego Milito, meaning his worse-for-wear Sienna strike proved to be decisive.
And it’s unlikely that Ibrahimovic would hold a grudge, either, later saying of Mourinho: “When I look at him, I see myself – a person with the same winning mentality.”
The pair would reunite again later down the line at United, claiming three titles during the 2016/17 campaign.
None of those will produce such a smirk from Mourinho as Ibrahimovic’s Capocannoniere trophy, though, and the same can maybe be said of the man who went through hell to get it.
