Jose Mourinho picked up a pen, pulled a pad of paper in front of him on the boardroom table and left the nib hovering inches above an imaginary dotted line.
"How close was I to taking the England job? This close," said the Special One - before adding that his wife, Matilde, persuaded him not to do it.
England had just missed the boat to Euro 2008, Steve McClaren had been sacked and Mourinho, whose severance terms with Chelsea two months earlier did not allow him to take charge of another Premier League club, was sorely tempted.
Players from other clubs had been ringing his Three Amigos at Chelsea - John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole - pleading with them to lobby Mourinho.
Seven years on, the Special One's only trophy since his second coming in English football was as the winning manager in Sunday night's Soccer Aid charity exhibition at Old Trafford, but he has no regrets about turning down England.
"No, it was the right decision - my wife was right. She told me not to take it. We are not speaking about the job today, we are talking about seven years ago, and I cannot wait two years for a big competition.
"I cannot be spending two years playing against Kazakhstan and San Marino. It's not for me, and she was right.
"What will I do during the week? I go to see the players training with their teams, I ask for permission to spend time with them and to have individual coaching with them. I have work to do with them, I can improve things, I want to participate in their evolution blah, blah, blah...
"In the end, she was saying 'No football, no matches is not for you' - and she was right. At that time I had no job and I had been at home for two or three months already after leaving Chelsea. Continue reading from Mirror Sport
Source: Mirror Sport
By Mike Walters
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