French outlet Foot Mercato today features an interview with former Portuguese midfielder Maniche. As he’s now a pundit in his home country, he was invited to mostly talk about the upcoming Europa League clash between Lyon and Porto.
Still, the interview was long enough for the 44-year-old to talk about the big experiences he had in his career, and that, of course, includes his time at Chelsea.
Maniche recalled the importance that José Mourinho, the then Blues manager who knew him from his time at Porto, had in his arrival at the Stamford Bridge at the time.
“Dynamo Moscow, it was my first experience abroad, difficult, I was not completely ready for such a change of dimension between the two clubs. I didn’t know Dynamo well enough. The working conditions were not the best, I felt difficulties in adapting,” Maniche told Foot Mercato.
Maniche joined Chelsea on a loan from Dynamo Moscow in the winter of 2006. In his short spell at the Stamford Bridge, he made 11 appearances, helping the Blues to win the Premier League in the process.
Following that, Maniche was back to Dynamo Moscow and immediately sold to Atletico Madrid. He also played for Inter Milan, Koln and Sporting before retiring in 2011.
