With the June 2008 arrival of José Mourinho to the position of Inter's head coach, there was much press speculation about Stanković's exit from the "Nerazzuri" (along with Adriano, Hernán Crespo, David Suazo and Nicolás Burdisso) being imminent, due to reportedly not being held in high regard by the newly arrived Portuguese coach. Much of the press' focus was also placed on Stanković's friendship with previous head coach Mancini and assistant coach Mihajlović, with veiled suggestions that it was this friendly relationship with the coaching duo that kept the Serb midfielder in the club, even when his performances were less than stellar throughout the 2007–08 season. Then in late June, after reports that Stanković was told by Mourinho that he would not be allowed to show up for the pre-season training in South Tyrol, and more reports that Stanković and Juve had agreed personal terms, it seemed that Stanković was definitely on his way out. The press reports of Stanković's pending arrival to Juve, sparked the club's fans into protests and online petitions, as they would neither forgive his turning down the club back in January 2004, nor his exuberant public celebrations after the 2005–06 Serie A title was stripped from Juve, and handed to Inter following the "Calciopoli" scandal. The Juve deal fell through within days for a variety of other reasons, and Stanković was suddenly reported to be happy to stay at Inter. However, the transfer talk was reignited again by Mourinho's suggestion in mid July 2008 that "Stanković was not the same player that he was at Lazio", which some took as a sign that the players Inter days were numbered, once again.