Mourinho’s Black Magic
I can’ say that I can remember many moments of football that have made me feel physically sick before inducing a prolongued bout of black dog (depression) but few have provoked both reactions as much as the site of Jose Mourinho scampering across the turf of the Camp Nou, and striking his defiant pose af the end of last night’s match.
If ever there was a moment of profound profanity it was this one. Bobby Robson’s one-time transalator, since elevated to the status of ‘special one’ by a culture based on arrogance and thuggery, had penetrated and abused the inner sanctum of the beautiful game, turning its fantastic tapestry to dust and substituting it with his very own version of black magic.
For over ninety minutes we watched what had been promised as a great spectacle reduced to a tedious, and at times graceless war of attrition with Inter’s two solid bank of defenders breaking and utltimately closing down Barca’s artifice.
All sense of mutual respect dissipated with every Mourinho gesticulation, his terrible sense of theatrics, and the rough tactics of his players, seemingly permeating Barca players like Busquets and Messi and reducing them to cheats.
This was football with beauty and poetry snuffed out of it, and with neither team, in the end playing with the nobility of champions. For al this I blame Mourinho. His satanic arts danced and played, exposing the key weakness in the Barca team-Ibrahimovic-and reducing Pep Guardiola to making mistakes under pressure- like not substituting the useless Swede much early on, and starting with Gabriel Milito instead of Maxwell.
I would like to hang on to the great moments this team has given us this season (see previous blogs). And it is because I believe that Barca can play the best football in the world, that I breakfasted with a sour taste this morning, thinking how deserving Mourinho is of the Bernabeu.
The officials for both matches were much more at fault than any antics Mourinho got up to. There were numerous smaller incidents which broke up both games but to have 3 such big decision go one way …….
An offside “goal” far more obvious than even the Drogba one scored at Old Trafford last month;
A clear penalty when scythed from behind (and then booked for diving to add to the indignity!); A disallowed goal for handball when hit at the player from close range (which on reply was shown to hit his body anyway).
These 3 events were responsible for a 3 goal swing! Mourinho would have been – ungraciously – silent if these had been reversed.
Was it a straight red? Who cares, it was definitely a yellow so he would have been off anyhow! Did ITV understand that when they went on and on about it? Probably not.
As far as Busquets behaviour, well its becoming a very bad habit with him. He does seem to be Pep’s golden boy but needs a serious dressing down before the Press decide to tar all Barca players the same way!
And Mourinho, well he lost any respect of me and countless others last night with his post match antics. He may be able to achieve results with his management “style” but, as a person, he has absolutely no class anbd unltimately believes “it’s all about him”!
I have two “cheap” tickets (£115 each directly from UEFA!!!) for the final but will not be spending the extra money on getting and staying in Madrid to watch another display of anti-football in UEFA’s showpiece final. there’s no bitterness in that comment, it surely is destined to become fact!
Mourinho is a genious, a supreme master, surely now the best manager in the world! The Special Ones’ tactics, his sheer skill at outwitting opponents, reduced Barcelona to a very tedious display of possession football which some call beautiful but yesterday was a complete and utter bore.
Let us remind Guardiola that the aim of the game is to put the ball in the net which his “beautiful” football was totally incapable of doing (until minute 86 and offside at that!). If with 75% possession you are unable to break down 10 very, very old men then you are not worthy of the Champions, let alone La Liga which is now for Real Madrid to take.
Cules the bubble has burst, Messi and your game may shine in the lesser league that is La Liga but I for one am looking forward to the Final in the Bernabeau, a real game where the supreme tactics of Mourinho’s Italians are pitted against the fury of the Van’s Germans, grit, fire and passion, all of which was missing yesterday!
And once we quickly forget the Camp Nou bore last night, we have the wonderful chance to witness the Blues progressing to their Double this weekend, yes a team that has notched up scores of 7 goals three times in the best league in the world – now that is truly “beautiful”!
No response from any Cule?! Well now you know what it feels like to loose out to a lesser team in a Champions Semi Final as happened to Chelsea last year with the difference that your diabolic means worked then (referee bought and ignored 3 clear penalties) and this year your disgusting cheating methods failed (Motta)……….
PS At least Madrid now has a team in a European Final!
Carlos
I concur, the aim of the game is to stick the ball in the onion bag and the result is there for all to see. It doesn’t tell the full story of course, but I’ll agree with you again and say that Barca were the beneficiaries of some decisions in the semi last year. C’est la vie.
The point you seem to be missing again though, is that of Mourinho and his clear lack of class, of dignity and of professionalism. Even taking the football out of the equation for a second, we love Barca because they are ‘more than a club’ – the whole ethos about what Barca stand for and how they conduct their business is what ‘we’ (cules) are about.
Mourinho is a great football manager for sure, a new Cloughie you might say whos always worth good copy. It is his antics though, that are often an absolute disgrace. If the papers are right, then the ‘Special One’ will be at the Bernabeu next season – I couldn’t think of a better fit to be honest.
A win for Inter in the final isn’t a win for ‘football’, but at the end of the day, as you mentioned in your posting on another subject, football can be played in many ways and Barca, as everybody, do not have a divine right to win everything. Maybe we were spoilt last season.
I’d still take the Barca way for my hard earned though thank you very much.
Hi Jason,
I will try and answer your points, probably throwing up new ones and maybe Mr Burns will step in!
Mourinho:
– class; not sure what you mean. If you mean he is vulgar (the famous knee skid when Chelsea equallised at Camp Nou) then yes I would agree, but that is part of his make up and its part of his show. I quite like it!
– dignity: at the Chelsea v Milan game, he left the managers area at 90 mins and went to the dressing room to show respect to the Chelsea supporters. I think he has dignity
– Professional: I would say he is 100% professional. Just look at the way he prepares games and how he knows everything about the opposition.
I said that when Barcelona play their “beautiful” football, they are indeed a joy to watch. Yet they could not break the old men of Milan and that to me demonstrates that they have not got the answer. Until the beautiful game can win against italian style CATENACCIO, it is nothing of significance.
So lets forget Barcelona and enjoy Chelsea winning the double in the next 10 days! And yes, an Italian has steered the Pensioners to an incredible Double and they may even reach the 100 goal mark by beating Wigan this Sunday!