Jose Mourinho actually threw Robert Huth’s Premier League winners’ medal into the Chelsea crowd rather than his own after winning the Premier League title in 2006. That’s according to former Chelsea pitch announcer and presenter, Neil Barnett.
Footage of Mourinho throwing his medal into the Matthew Harding End is iconic and everyone assumed that the medal belonged to Mourinho. However, it turns out that this wasn’t a selfless gesture to the Chelsea fans on the revered Portuguese coach’s part, after all. Instead, it’s understood the medal belonged to towering centre-back Huth.
A Chelsea fan account tweeted an image of Mourinho throwing a medal into the stands with the caption: “Jose Mourinho throws his 2005/06 PL winner’s medal into the crowd of Chelsea fans to show his love for them. One of us, forever.” However, Barnett – who worked at the club for 32 years before leaving in 2018 – gave a different version of events via Twitter:
“It wasn’t his. It was Robert Huth’s who hadn’t reported that day in order to force a move.”
Huth had featured in 13 Premier League matches that season, meaning he’d deserved a winners’ medal. However, the German was left out of three of the last four match-day squads as he looked to force a move away from Stamford Bridge. And it seems his no-show for the final day of the season, in which Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-0, angered Mourinho so much that he chucked his medal away.
Huth did indeed get his move that summer, signing a five-year contract with Middlesbrough in a deal worth £6 million. Former Real Madrid centre-back Jonathan Woodgate also signed for Boro on the same day as then-manager Gareth Southgate bolstered his defensive options.
Mourinho Claims He Gave Away Two Medals
Former Chelsea boss explained why afterwards
While Mourinho may well have ‘given’ Huth’s medal away, the ex-Chelsea boss claimed to have also passed on his medal. “The crowd here is special,” the Portuguese boss said at the time. “They have contributed so much to the record we have at home. It is extra special in the Matthew Harding Stand.
“The medal was for everyone. The lucky guy will go home with an incredible memory – or make a fortune on eBay. Someone gave me a second one, so that one went too.
“In Porto, I kept the medal for me. That was for the Champions League and it was only one. I was guessing, in future, it could be difficult to get another one. I have one from last season in the Premier League and the medal is the same one. You can’t keep everything.”
According to the Daily Mail, one of Mourinho’s medals was soldby a lucky Chelsea fan for an eye-watering £21,600 in 2008. A second medal was then auctioned for £16,800 two years later.
One of those belongs to the unfortunate Huth, it seems. At least the German later led Leicester City to an extraordinary Premier League title in 2016 and finally got a winners’ medal around his neck.
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Robert Huth’s Premier League Stats |
|
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
322 |
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Goals |
21 |
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Assists |
7 |
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Clean Sheets |
82 |
|
Premier League Titles |
3 |
Mourinho Also Threw Away AS Roma Medal
Mourinho repeated the act of throwing his medal into the crowd when his AS Roma side lost the Europa League final to Sevilla in 2023. Mourinho’s perfect record in European finals ended when his side lost on penalties to Sevilla in Budapest.
The legendary manager was furious with referee Anthony Taylor after the match and waited for him in the car park to question his decisions. During his post-match interview, he said: “I want to stay at Roma. But my players deserve more and I also deserve more. I’m a little tired of being a coach, a man of communication, the face of the club that says we were robbed after every game.
“I’m tired of acting on every front. Next year we won’t be playing the Champions League and that’s a good thing because we’re not made for it. And let’s hope that Taylor, only officiates games in the Champions League and does the same bull**** there that he did tonight, and not in the Europa League.”
BT Sport pundit Gaizka Mendieta reacted to Mourinho’s medal toss after the final. The former Valencia and Barcelona star said: “He gave the medal to his fan another way of saying ‘I don’t want a silver medal’. It’s nice because the fan will remember it forever.”
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Huth Still Has Respect For Mourinho
Described Portuguese coach as ‘amazing’
Despite seemingly having his medal chucked into the crowd by Mourinho, the former Germany international still has the upmost respect for his former boss. “He is amazing. He came to Chelsea after winning the Champions League at Porto and everyone was in awe of him,” Huth told Paddy Power’s Pitch Invader magazine, per the Mirror.
“For me and my career he was a total game-changer. He came in with his mentality, his training and preparation and just took the club to another level. It was always good, but with him it was something else – the sheer level of detail for training and for games too. We had ballboys at training! I’ve never seen anything like it.
“He didn’t even want to waste even one minute of a player or a member of staff’s time by having them collect balls. So he got a few teenagers from the local area, so that training was continuous. I remember thinking ‘whoah, this guy means business!’ His influence was enormous. He didn’t give a s***. He just wanted to win.”