Source: REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
[Saba Sports News] Recently, Jose Mourinho revealed an anecdote from his time coaching Inter during a media interview: how Maicon received an extra holiday during Christmas. Mourinho coached Inter from 2008 to 2010 and led the team to a treble in the 2009-10 season. Mourinho stated: “When I first arrived at Inter, I heard that Maicon Douglas always managed to get his fifth yellow card in the last match before Christmas and then went on holiday to Brazil.” Indeed, on December 20, 2008, before Inter’s Serie A match against Siena, Maicon had already received four yellow cards. In response, Mourinho pulled Maicon aside and told him, “If you get a fifth yellow card, don’t even think about going on holiday or slacking off.” Maicon replied, “What if I score in the match?” I thought Maicon might actually score a goal, so I set a high standard: “If you can score two goals, you can leave.” Maicon scored two goals in that match and celebrated by taking off his shirt and receiving a yellow card; afterward, he went back to Brazil and got an extra week off.