Jose Mourinho branded hero after saving team-mates life by pulling him out of burning car

The Tottenham manager was playing for Portuguese club Comercio e Industria back in his homeland in 1986 when he pulled his team-mate away before the flames could get him

Posted Tuesday, April 21, 2020 by Dailystar.co.uk

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has been labelled a hero for saving a team-mate's life by rescuing him from a burning car.

Mourinho's act of bravery happened in 1986 when he was playing for Portuguese club Comercio e Industria.

Portuguese striker De had arrived at training when his car inexplicably burst into flames as he parked in the stadium car park.

The 'Special One' is said to have reacted instinctively as the vehicle was engulfed in flames, pulling his team-mate to safety before the petrol tank could ignite and potentially explode.

De said: "He saved my life."

The heroic revelation came in a new book 'Mourinho: Behind the Special One, from the origin to the glory' by French journalist Nicolas Vilas.

A young Jose Mourinho with Louis van Gaal at Barcelona during the 1997/1998 season

Club president at the time Fernando Lage added: "He was heroic."

The book also details how Mourinho agreed to become Liverpool before joining Chelsea instead in 2004.

The 57-year-old's former adviser Jorge Baidek said: "Mourinho should have gone to Liverpool.

"Rick Parry [then chief executive] was in charge of transfers and we had an agreement.

"They asked us to wait for 15 days as Gerrard Houllier was still the Reds' manager."

Jose Mourinho was Sir Bobby Robson's translator at Barcelona back in the 1990s before he became Porto boss

The book reveals how super agent Jorge Mendes alerted the Blues to Mourinho’s availability and helped them piece together a better deal.

Mourinho then met with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich on his luxury yacht in Monaco the day after Porto’s remarkable Champions League triumph in 2004 to secure his move.

Over two spells at the Stamford Bridge club, Mourinho went on to win three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three League Cups – the first of which came after beating Liverpool in the 2005 final.

The Portuguese coach was recently criticised for breaking government coronavirus isolation guidelines by holding a training session on Hadley Common for midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

Mourinho was also spotted on Saturday walking with goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos and tactical analyst Ricardo Formosinho near Tottenham's training base.

The trio were not adhering to social distancing guidelines, as all three are not believed to be living under the same roof.