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What's the story?
Former Real Madrid boss, Jose Mourinho, made a huge claim, stating that Los Blancos were afraid to face Lyon in the UEFA Champions League when he arrived at the club.
In case you didn't know...
Mourinho's three-season-long tenure with the Spanish giants was marked by controversy in the end as he fell out with numerous players. But the Portuguese coach managed to win multiple silverware during his time, despite Los Blancos' shortcomings in Europe.
Under the tutelage of Mourinho, Madrid only managed to reach the semifinals in the Champions League but won the LaLiga by record points and the Copa Del Rey by beating Barcelona in the final.
Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United last December after enduring a poor start to the 2018/19 campaign. The Portuguese tactician was one of the names in Real Madrid's wish list to replace Santiago Solari, but the return of Zinedine Zidane closed all doors for Mourinho.
The heart of the matter
Despite the failures in a chaotic tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu, Mourinho likes to remind the role he played in Madrid's success and made a huge claim, stating that the players were afraid to face Lyon when he arrived.
"I think that for seven or eight years they hadn't reached the quarter-finals," he said to beIN Sports as quoted by Marca.
"They didn't play in semi-finals or quarter-finals. In my first season we had Lyon and the club was afraid."
"I couldn't understand how a club could be afraid of Lyon, who were a good team, but it was Lyon."
"We fell in the semi-finals on penalties, with Kaka, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo - all excellent takers - failing. Then we had a record of 100 points and lost in the semi-finals on penalties."
What's next?
Mourinho is without a club now, but he is set to return to coaching in 2018/19.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid will face Huesca in the LaLiga after the International break, which will be Zinedine Zidane's 2nd game in charge since his return.
