Those at the top at Barcelona initially wanted someone with club connections to be Sir Bobby’s assistant, but he insisted it had to be Mourinho.
For good reason.
Sir Bobby was walking into a divided club following the departure of legendary manager Johan Cruyff and needed someone he trusted implicitly, who could help get his message across in another foreign language.
By this stage, Mourinho’s role had long since evolved.
He helped out on the training ground. He produced scouting dossiers on the opposition that Sir Bobby rated as the best he had ever seen. Crucially, he was used to dealing with international players.
In a testing environment, the pair complemented each other once again as midfielder Guillermo Amor explained.
“They managed to create a good atmosphere and make a very strong team,” he said.
“Jose had more contact with the players due to his fluency in the language and his age, which was very similar to ours.
“He had great respect for Bobby and Bobby had great faith in everything Jose could do on the field and in the locker room.”
Sir Bobby went on to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the Copa Del Rey and the Spanish Cup in what proved to be his final season with Mourinho before the Barcelona manager was moved upstairs to the position of general manager and replaced by Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho told Sir Bobby he wanted to leave out of loyalty but his mentor convinced him to stay, having already briefed van Gaal about the merits of keeping his assistant.
Had Mourinho not spent three further three years at the Nou Camp under van Gaal, the Portuguese could well have followed Sir Bobby to Newcastle in 1999.
Instead he went it alone – but Sir Bobby’s influence lives on.
To this day, Mourinho cherishes those moments the pair’s families shared in Sitges, the meals Sir Bobby never let him pay for and the lessons he taught him about life.
It is why the 62-year-old considers himself a “little Magpie”.
“The club up there know how much love and respect I have for them,” he told CBS earlier this month. “I learned that love from Mr Robson.”
