Longtime soccer manager Jose Mourinho was in Russia on Monday to do the ceremonial puck drop honors before a KHL game between Avangard Omsk, who are coached by former NHL bench boss Bob Hartley, and SKA St. Petersburg.
Before he did that he checked out the facilities, met the players, made sure the skates were sharp, and inspected some goalie equipment, which probably involved naming one piece “The Special Glove.”
It's time to try something new. pic.twitter.com/8AkPcdGxmr
— KHL (@khl_eng) February 4, 2019
When it came time to drop the puck all went well until Mourinho, who was fired by English Premier League side Manchester United in December, began walking back to shake hands with Evgeny Medvedev and Pavel Datsyuk.
Avangard would go on to win the game 2-0.
Keen observers would say that slip could also represent his time at United and his second tenure at Chelsea. Also, maybe Paul Pogba had something to do with it.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.