From Galashiels to Inter Milan

The Italian club was visited by Scottish Borders development officer Dougie Anderson just days after they won the Serie A title for the fourth successive time.

Anderson travelled to Italy on his two-day observation trip to meet up once more with Inter manager Jose Mourinho, who had invited the Galashiels man to watch his team train.

Anderson was impressed with Inter’s training methods and professionalism, despite having just finished celebrating their defence of the Scudetto.

He said: “Inter had won the title just three days before I went out to watch them train.

“The first day of training was quite laid back, but the second was very enjoyable to watch.

“The players gave 100 per cent and you could see why they are winners.

“Mourinho’s assistant Giuseppe Baresi took a switch of play session, which was really great and a variation of it will definitely be something I will look to use with the development squads we have in the Borders.

“Their players were so confident on the ball. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a fantastic first touch and watching Patrick Viera’s passing was brilliant. Their training also showed that we are not too far off the mark with the training methods we use in Scotland, compared to Italy.”

Anderson also got a chance to meet up with Mourinho again – he had been invited to Chelsea when the ‘Special One’ was manager at Stamford Bridge.

However, he said speculation at the time linking Mourinho to Real Madrid was clearly a distraction.

“I had a chat with Jose and kicked a football around with him and his son at the training ground – it was quite surreal,” he added.

“The speculation about Real Madrid was very prominent at the time and I felt something was on his mind.

“He seemed distant, but just a couple of days later he signed a new contract at Inter.

“It is a great feat by Mourinho to win league championships in Portugal, England and Italy, but I am sure he is aiming for the Champions League next season".