The ex-England international John Terry has revealed a vague rule that Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho taught his players to take advantage of in the Blues.
What did John Terry say?
While working as a pundit during the World Cup in Qatar, the Englishman divulged a rule that the Portuguese put into effect whenever his side scored a goal in a match. The ex-Blues captain, who played under Jose Mourinho during both of his managerial spots at Stamford Bridge, claims not even referees were aware of the law the Portuguese tactician, aided by Cahill, used to help lower the clock.
The former England centre-back said he remembers the rule was if they were 1-0 up and the ball was delivered to the box… if two defenders went up together and both went down to the floor afterwards, there was no need to leave the field of play. So according to John Terry, for the last 10 or 15 minutes he’s been sitting with Min and Gary Cahill and walking that when the ball comes into the box make sure they both go down – bump into each other and both go down because they both can’t go.
They have never heard of this rule. So the ball comes in the last 10 minutes, head over, Gaz drops, and Terry thinks he better get down. John sank to the floor and the referee said that the two of them were off the field. Terry said no, that’s not the rule, ask the linesman. John Terry says Jose Mourinho was so far ahead with these little pieces and they talk about small margins and the best head coaches find those small margins.
A little about the topic
John ended a illustrious 20-year career with the Blues in 2017, with five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and the Champions League among his many trophies. A large chunk of those prizes have been collected while working with Jose, who now finds himself in seventh place in Serie A with Giallorossi, taking him his first ever European title with the 2021-22 Europa League crown.