10 Most Awkward Football Reunions Ever

By Michael Ramsay / October 15, 2014

6. Samuel Eto€™o vs Jose Mourinho

Everybody remembers Cameroonian international Samuel Eto€™o declaring that he would never play for Chelsea back in 2005, still fuming at the manner of Barcelona€™s exit from the Champions League, but he was also very selective about writing off what manager he would play for as well. Disgusted at Jose Mourinho€™s antics during Chelsea€™s first-leg defeat at the Camp Nou, which included the infamous incident which led to the retirement of Swedish referee Anders Frisk, Eto€™o claimed he would never play for the Portuguese boss.

''Never will I sign for a team trained by Mourinho. He wrecked things completely with his behaviour surrounding the two games between our sides. I insist Barca boss Frank Rijkaard is the better coach despite how many titles the Portuguese has won.۪۪ - Samuel Eto۪o, March 2005.

Four years later, Eto€™o would renege on his promise and signed for Mourinho€™s Inter Milan in the summer of 2009 as part of the deal which took Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the Nou Camp. The former Barcelona star would strike up an instant relationship with his former nemesis, and won an unprecedented treble during their only season together, before Mourinho signed him once again for Chelsea in 2013.

''Before meeting at Inter, we didn۪t know each other personally, so our relationship was tense. I even said one time that I۪d never play for a club where Jose was coach. But God knows best. He wanted to show me that I was wrong and today Jose is a friend.۪۪ - Samuel Eto۪o, September 2013.