Mario Melchiot reveals Gianluca Vialli moment he’ll ‘never forget’ & explains the only way he sees Jose Mourinho managing in England again

Mario Melchiot reveals exclusively to Ladbrokes Fanzone a Gianluca Vialli moment he’ll ‘never forget’ & explains the only way he sees Jose Mourinho managing in England again.

• “I suppose the only job he might take in England, now, is the national job… I think that would just come down to what the FA want from their next manager.“
• “When I signed for Chelsea, of course I was very happy, and it was a very proud and special moment for me. But I broke my foot twice in one season. Before I’d even kicked a ball for the team, I thought my football career was finished.“
• “For me, the greatest thing I had going for me was Gianluca Vialli. The way he took care of me, I don’t think any other manager would’ve done what he did. That’s why I will always have a soft spot for him.“
• “When I was injured, he made an agreement with me; he called me into his office and explained my rehabilitation was going to be split: two weeks in Amsterdam at my rehabilitation sports clinic and with family, one week in London…”
• “He knew that being with my family, and being in my hometown was really important in those moments. That memory, I will never, ever forget. I don’t know what it feels like to be lonely, and that’s because Vialli never let me experience it.“
• “I suppose the only job he might take in England, now, is the national job. It’s something that has been spoken about in the past and, personally, I think that would just come down to what the FA want from their next manager.“

Gianluca Vialli gave me a moment I’ll never forget

When I signed for Chelsea, of course I was very happy, and it was a very proud and special moment for me. But I broke my foot twice in one season. Before I’d even kicked a ball for the team, I thought my football career was finished. As young boy, you know, when you come over to England, you’re so excited; moving to a new country, signing for a big club and preparing for the new challenge. But then you’re ruled out by an injury and that feeling is just completely taken over by sadness.

I broke it once, and then a couple of months later I broke it again. So I’m sat there just thinking ‘I haven’t even played football for this club, and I’ve broken my foot twice.’

So, you can imagine, when I finally recovered, and I stepped onto that pitch at Stamford Bridge for the first time, against Middlesbrough… oh my God. It was the best moment of my life. I don’t want to say it was a life-saving moment, but it was something like that, because I was so desperate to play football again, and I had moments where I thought my career had been taken away from me. Finally, I was able to live my dream again. That was the proudest moment for me, in a Chelsea shirt.

Those seven or eight months out injured were difficult, I’m not going to lie. I had to quickly manoeuvrer myself and try to understand what was happening. I was fortunate because I moved over with my brother. Two young boys living in London. That really helped me, because he kept me focused. I also felt like I wasn’t that far away from my family; although they were in a different country, London to Amsterdam is just a 45-minute flight.

I always wanted to move to London, because I always felt London was a bigger and even more exciting version of Amsterdam. But I couldn’t fully experience life as a foreign player in England, because I wasn’t playing, due to my injury!

For me, the greatest thing I had going for me was Gianluca Vialli. The way he took care of me, I don’t think any other manager would’ve done what he did. That’s why I will always have a soft spot for him. When I was injured, he made an agreement with me; he called me into his office and explained my rehabilitation was going to be split: two weeks in Amsterdam at my rehabilitation sports clinic and with family, one week in London, and so on, until he decided I was ready to return to proper training again. Why, he felt, this was important, was simple:

“Love will make you recover faster.”

He knew that being with my family, and being in my hometown was really important in those moments. That memory, I will never, ever forget. I don’t know what it feels like to be lonely, and that’s because Vialli never let me experience it.

Here’s the only way I see Jose Mourinho managing in England…

Jose Mourinho has always been a strong character, and football teams need characters, whether that’s on the pitch or in the dugout. He’s so instrumental; if you talk to any players who have worked with him, they love him. I wasn’t fortunate enough to work with him during a season, as I left Chelsea just as he arrived in 2004. But I’ve had enough conversations with him over the years to know what he’s like as a person. And whenever I came up against Chelsea in my career, Jose would always go out of his way to stop and talk to me.

He’s the kind of guy who respects good players, whether they’re on his team or not. And if he respects you as a player, he will stop you in the tunnel, and shake your hand. And every time I played against his team, he would do that to me.

Do I see him coming back to England? I’m not sure. Why would he? He has done so many great things in this country. He had two spells in charge of Chelsea and was successful in both, he’s also managed Manchester United and Tottenham before going out to Italy. I just don’t know what else he’d need to prove in England. What is he going to do next? Go to Liverpool? Probably not.

I suppose the only job he might take in England, now, is the national job. It’s something that has been spoken about in the past and, personally, I think that would just come down to what the FA want from their next manager.

Then you’ve got to ask whether or not Jose wants to slow down… taking a national job is a sign of a manager slowing down, because the demands of that kind of role are completely different to those within club football management.

Everyone knows how he likes to play, so you’ve got to look at that, too. His style of play… does that suit England right now, and where they want to be? If England want him, then he’s a great name to bring in when Gareth Southgate moves on, for sure.