Jose Mourinho moved Inter Milan training sessions from mornings to evenings on Mondays, due to the drinking habits of Maicon, a former Inter player has claimed.
Manchester United manager Mourinho spent two years in charge of the Nerazzuri, between 2008 and 2010.
In his second campaign, Mourinho’s side became the first Italian team in history to win the treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League.
And Ianis Zicu, a Romanian forward who spent six years at the club but never made a first-team appearance, has claimed one of Mourinho’s biggest battles was with ex-Brazil full-back Maicon.
At the time, the Brazilian was one of the world’s premier right-backs. But according to Zicu, Mourinho and the Inter squad had to completely change their training regime to keep him on board, in their quest to become European kings.
“At Inter, Mourinho had a player who was often drunk on Mondays... Maicon,” he told Digi Sport, as reported by Football Italia. “Mourinho once called the lads together and asked them, ‘how can we get Maicon in position?’
“After that, he decided to move the session to the evening. And that’s how it went.
“They didn’t train in the morning, but they did in the evening so that Maicon could recover for training.
"These situations can happen in a team, and that team must make a decision.”
Certainly, with the side winning five trophies in Mourinho's two years at the helm, the Portuguese's methods paid off.