A regular for SFR Sport in France, William Gallas loves to give anecdotes about his career, and a lot of it revolves around his time at Chelsea.
The defender spent five years at Stamford Bridge before a very controversial transfer to Arsenal in 2006 when the Blues claimed the player had threatened to deliberately score own goals if he wasn’t allowed to leave.
That said, before the controversy, the player enjoyed a successful spell with the club, mostly under José Mourinho, winning two Premier Leagues, a League Cup and a Community Shield.
Speaking on the show Le Vestiaire, the player recalled what it was like playing under the Portuguese manager, especially when it came to the Special One’s team talks, and one in particular.
He said: “It was against a big team in the league, I can’t remember which one, but just before we went out, he brought us together and told us: ‘Guys, when you’re in the tunnel, you look straight ahead. You don’t look to the side. You look straight ahead. Like soldiers. And you’ll see, you’ll have already won the game’.
“He’s the manager. We do what he says, because he’s behind and checking if anyone looks to the side, and there, like robots, we look ahead. I can tell you, even if you’re looking straight, you can see what’s going on to the side, and you could sense the opposition feeling the pressure. They never seen this before.”
Gallas et le discours de guerrier de Mourinho : “On était comme des soldats !” 💪💪 #LeVestiaire pic.twitter.com/gcpNop9C1b
— SFR Sport (@SFR_Sport) September 28, 2016
An interesting tactic, to say the least.
After all, Mourinho is known for his charisma and authority in the dressing room, and to manage to psych out an opponent before the game as already started is an impressive feat.
It’s a shame he couldn’t do that last season, though.
