Jose Mourinho once threatened to sell Nemanja Matic during a team talk at half-time, such was his frustration with the midfielder’s performance.
MK Dons player Jordan Houghton was in the Chelsea dressing room that day, with Jose Mourinho losing his cool in a pre-season friendly match.
Houghton was given the chance to play alongside his idol John Terry in pre-season matches against Wycombe and AFC Wimbledon and against the latter he was exposed to just how hard life can be at a big club, with Mourinho – now manager of Tottenham – losing his rag with Matic.
‘I got Terry’s signed shirt in the U9s as he was my idol at the time but I was nervous because I thought I wasn’t supposed to do it,’ he told Goal.
‘It was surreal that I trained and played with him. I see him as a friend now which is more surreal.
‘We played together against Wycombe and AFC Wimbledon and it was under Mourinho.
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‘Against Wimbledon, I remember Mourinho absolutely hammering Matic and threatening to get rid of him so that was an eye-opener! I then went on tour with the first team.’
Despite Mourinho’s outburst, Houghton relished the chance be in and around the Chelsea dressing room, and says Eden Hazard was the best player he saw at the club.
‘I took what I could from training with these guys and the first player who stuck out was Deco,’ added Houghton.
‘He was just a class player with his touches. Didier Drogba, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Lampard and John Terry.
‘But I think Eden Hazard was the best first-team player that I played with. He was incredible but he didn’t train so hard to be fresh for big games in the difficult periods. He was unplayable when he turned it on in training.
‘I remember really enjoying training under Di Matteo, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez.’
