Jan Vertonghen was an important part of the Tottenham Hotspur squad during Jose Mourinho’s time at the club.
The Belgian played 21 games under the manager and yesterday Mourinho faced off against his former player in the Europa League play-off round first leg as Fenerbahce beat Anderlecht 3-0 at home.
Vertonghen was on the bench for Anderlecht and didn’t come on for the club but he did share a warm moment with his former manager.
After the game, Mourinho spoke to the press about his encounter with the ex-Tottenham defender and he described him as one of his ‘boys’ and how that will always be the case. The 37-year-old also gave the manager his shirt.
Mourinho said, as relayed by Telegraaf: “Jan is still one of my boys. That will always be the case. The way he is as a footballer, but also as a person. I love that. I will cherish his shirt.”
While Vertonghen was not quite a regular under the Portuguese coach at Tottenham, he captained the side at that point.
Spurs didn’t win silverware during Mourinho’s stint in London but it is quite clear that there is still a lot of respect between the manager and the players from that era, even if the period didn’t end in a pretty way.
