Skip to main content

'Mourinho told me "Don’t train, you’ll be playing but I’m going to name a different team"... he had me believing that I wasn’t playing until he named the team so he did me a kipper as well!' Damien Duff on Jose Mourinho's Chelsea vs Barcelona double bluff

Damien Duff playing for Chelsea in 2003
Even Damien Duff fell victim to Jose Mourinho's mind games before Chelsea faced Barcelona (Image credit: Alamy)

Ronaldinho's toe-poke. Andres Iniesta's last-minute equaliser. Didier Drogba screaming into the camera. Fernando Torres' redemption. Gary Neville's goal-gasm.

Chelsea faced Barcelona in the Champions League in five out of eight seasons between 2005 and 2012 - and they served up a classic almost every time.

'It was classic mind games' when Mourinho fooled Barcelona

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho celebrates with the Premier League trophy on his head, flanked by players Frank Lampard and captain John Terry, after winning the 2004/05 title

Jose Mourinho led Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first two seasons (Image credit: Alamy)

When Chelsea were paired with Barcelona in the last 16 in 2004/05, the stage was set for a classic.

Jose Mourinho had shaken up the Premier League following his arrival as manager the previous summer, with the Blues on course for a first top-flight title in 50 years. Their opponents would also be crowned domestic champions that season, winning La Liga by four points, and boasted the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Samuel Eto'o and FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho.

Ronaldinho celebrates his goal against Chelsea in 2005 with his Barcelona team-mates

Ronaldinho (right) celebrates his extraordinary goal in the second leg (Image credit: Getty Images)

If the narrative wasn't already dripping enough, throw in the fact that Mourinho spent four years on the backroom staff at Barcelona between 1996 and 2000 - and wasted no time in launching into the mind games.

“Do you want to know the team?” Mourinho asked ahead of the first leg at Camp Nou. “I can say my team and Barca team. Referee: Frisk. Barcelona: Valdes, Belletti, Puyol, Marquez, Giovanni, Albertini, Deco, Xavi, Eto’o, Giuly, Ronaldinho.

“Chelsea: Petr Cech, Paulo, Ricardo, John Terry, Gallas at left back, Tiago, Makelele, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole… Drogba i Gudjohnsen,” he added, pausing mid-flow, before accidentally using the Catalan word for ‘and’. While he predicted the Barca team perfectly, the Chelsea team was a lie.

"I was struggling with injury and Jose told me, ‘Don’t train, you’ll be playing but I’m going to name a different team’," said Blues winger Damien Duff, speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo.

"He was so good at doing things like that, he even had me believing that I wasn’t playing until he named the team the next day, so he did me a kipper as well! But I started and played a role in an important away goal. It was classic mind games."

Didier Drogba

Didier Drogba was sent off in the first leg, but Mourinho got under Barcelona's skin (Image credit: Getty)

After falling behind to Juliano Belletti's own goal, Barcelona fought back to win the first leg 2-1. But Mourinho had succeeded in one of his missions, riling up Chelsea's opponents by complaining about a supposed conversation between Barca boss Frank Rijkaard and referee Anders Frisk at half time of the first leg.

Back in west London a fortnight later, the Blues ran riot in a scintillating opening 20 minutes as Eidur Gudjohnsen, Frank Lampard and Duff all scored to put the hosts 3-0 up.

Ronaldinho reduced the deficit with a penalty, before his breathtaking 20-yard toe-poke left Petr Cech rooted to the spot, silenced Stamford Bridge and levelled the tie on aggregate, with Barca now set to progress thanks to the away goals rule.

Ronaldinho celebrates scoring for Barcelona against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

Ronaldinho celebrates after stunning Stamford Bridge (Image credit: Getty Images)

"I guess we just streamrollered them - that was Mourinho just being prepared," added Duff. "He wanted to draw them, I remember before the draw he was telling all the lads that he wanted to get Barcelona. We thought that was crazy, they had Ronaldinho, Eto’o… but he was right, as per usual! It was nice to score but then Ronaldinho showed us all up with his amazing performance!"

Chelsea were on their way out of the competition, but John Terry's late header made it 4-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate. Mourinho's men held on, and while they eventually fell to Liverpool in the semi-finals, but they had showed they belonged at Europe's top table.

“The Barcelona win put us on the map, because they’d been one of Europe’s top teams for many years,” defender Glen Johnson, who came off the bench that night, exclusively told FourFourTwo.

“The fact we could land a punch on them proved we deserved to be at that level. At that time, I’d say we were probably the best team in Europe.”

James Roberts is a freelance sports journalist working for FourFourTwo. He has spent the past three years as a sports sub-editor for various national newspapers and started his career at the Oxford Mail, where he covered Oxford United home and away.

With contributions from

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.