Filipe Morais - The man who turned down Mourinho

**Hibby Mike** · 23-01-2015 02:43 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30821060

A Bradford City player scoring six goals at Stamford Bridge on Saturday is unlikely to happen, but Bantams winger Filipe Morais will probably be happy to score at least one goal against his former side.Not many footballers would turn down the chance to play for Jose Mourinho, but just over 10 years ago Morais did exactly that.
Morais, 29, played in Mourinho's first game in charge in the Portuguese coach's first spell at Chelsea back in 2004 - a pre-season friendly at Oxford United.
"When he first came in, he got me straight in the first team group and got me really involved," says Morais.
"He was fantastic with me and it will be nice to see him again and say hello."
Morais got on the pitch for the final few minutes against Oxford United, but the closest he got to a competitive appearance for the Blues was a place on the bench for an FA Cup tie against Huddersfield.
"The one competitive game I was involved in, we were losing at the time so Jose brought on Arjen Robben instead of me," adds Morais. "He came on and got an assist and made the difference so it was probably the right decision."
With Robben ahead of him in the pecking order, as well as Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, Morais - despite the offer of a new contract at Stamford Bridge - decided his future lay elsewhere.
A nomadic career ensued as he played for several clubs including Millwall, Hibernian, Oldham and Stevenage before arriving at Bradford last year.
It is a club Morais now feels settled at and while he is thankful for the part Mourinho has played in his career, he hopes he can cause the Chelsea boss a headache on Saturday.
"We have a load of fans going down to the game and we want them to enjoy the occasion and we want to do the very best we can do for them all," he says.
"We want to go there and express ourselves and dream about the possibility of causing an upset."""

**Future17** · 23-01-2015 02:44 PM

Hmmm, Robben or Morais. Curly one....

***jacomo*** · 23-01-2015 03:21 PM

How is Morais still only 29??

Anyhow, he might have done well financially out of a new deal at Chelsea but he would probably have been on his way soon enough. I've got a soft spot for Bradford, good luck to them.

johnbc70 · 23-01-2015 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by jacomoseven

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How is Morais still only 29??

Anyhow, he might have done well financially out of a new deal at Chelsea but he would probably have been on his way soon enough. I've got a soft spot for Bradford, good luck to them.

Thought the same as it seems like an age since he was at Hibs and he is still under 30! Just shows you how young he was when we came to Hibs.

***California-Hibs*** · 23-01-2015 04:59 PM

He wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of fans made him out to be. Just saying..

**ekhibee** · 23-01-2015 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by California-Hibs

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He wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of fans made him out to be. Just saying..

Agreed, he wasn't a bad player at all, but he really did blow hot and cold. I saw him have a couple of really good games for Hibs, but in others he was totally anonymous.