I can think of several coaches deserving a noble place in Spanish football history, but Jose Mourinho is not one of them.
Cowardice dictated his red card in the King’s Cup final, his verbal outburst the cheap shot of a bad loser. He had promised more than he could deliver and knew it but rather than stick around and fight to the end with his players, he chose escape.
It was a game in which Simeone’s street bruisers had found their perfect counterpart in Mourinho, and beat him at his own game. With Mourinho expelled, it was left to Casillas to try and rally the troops from the touchline-an act of chivalry belatedly restored at the Bernabeu.
Previously Casillas, a decent guy much loved by club and national team colleagues, had found himself sidelined, simply to fuel Mourinho’s ego. Such treatment came lose to wrecking Real Madrid’s sense of its own identity. Mourinho enjoyed the support of the Ultras Surs , much as a dictator rallies his storm troopers. They mirrored each other in their thuggery.
Ultras Surs waved the Spanish flag and in so doing made a mockery of true patriotism. Their hero Mourinho tried his best to drive a wedge in the solidarity of the Spanish national team, fuelling club rivalries, turning friends against each other, a veritable agent provocateur. Neither Guardiola nor Del Bosque owe him any favours, and Tito Vilanova should never forget that poke in the eye. Mourinho was not so special when it came to Spain.
Jimmy,
This is not a comment on Mourinho, but on the dreadful impact that some
linesmen have on the game of football. In the recent Europa League Final
between Benfica of Portugal and Chelsea from the U.K. the clearly better
team on the day, Benfica, did not win the match. This was due largely to a
linesman’s incorrect offside call against the Benfica striker, Cardozo, who
was flagged as being offside. The subsequent video replay, however, showed what most spectators saw, that he was clearly level with the
defenders when the ball was sent forward to him. Neither a referee nor
a linesman should affect the outcome of a football match with guesswork.
While I can excuse a referee on the pitch with an occasional missed call
because he has such a large area to patrol, I cannot so easily excuse a
linesman who has half the distance in a straight line to monitor. In a game
like football where one goal can often decide the outcome, I think there
should be a generally accepted practice among linesmen, perhaps called
“offensive preference”, in which the offensive player gets preference in
close offside calls when the linesman knows he is out of position to make
an accurate decision. In a game with so few goals, Chelsea 2 and Benfica 1,
with 1 goal disallowed to Benfica, if the linesman had given that one “benefit of the doubt” decision to the Benfica striker, Cardozo, I believe
Benfica would have won that game. Call it lack of fitness, poor vision, or
poor positioning, the linesmen have to start doing a better job of monitoring
the game.
Behave Jimmy
Jose has won titles in 4 countries he won the EPL in his 1st season it took ferguson 7 years he has as many ECL’s as the scotch knight and history will be the judge.
You have allowed your club blinkers to colour your judgement.
The Special One is without doubt the best manager in the World, having won 20 major titles, including 7 leagues in 4 different countries.
I just feel your biased antagonism is simply bassed on cheap jealousy as Pep Guardiola comes nowhere near Mourinho’s extraordinary record.
Given Mourinho’s track record, the haul of trophies achieved by Ferguson, in just 1 club, will surely be surpassed when he returns to Chelsea.
Going to Real Madrid was a relationship doomed from the start as the combination of an outspoken and radical manager, in the bastion of the formality and the conservative style imposed by Florentino and his junta, was an explosive mixture.
And if you really think that Mourinho had a hidden agenda to drive a wedge in the national team, then I really question your objectivity. You are well aware that the rivalry between these 2 teams go back well before Mourinho turned up at Madrid, and the Clasico fixture is not exactly a litany of friendly games.
As for Casillas, well again, you just do a broad sweep and simply malign Mourinho to back up your false thesis. For those who don’t know, Casillas’s girlfriend is a very attractive journalist and the whole of this season, leaks have been coming from the Madrid camp totally undermining Mourinho’s position. They were traced back to Casillas & his girlfriend, resulting in a feud and breakdown in the player / manager relationship. It’s the old story, player power v manager. So take your pick, support the devious player or back the person who is supposed to be in control. But don’t use this incident to condemn Mourinho and sanctify Casillas.
I would start worrying about the Barça’s future instead of creating diversions mocking Madrid’s manager. A half empty stadium tonight, when La Liga Cup will be presented to the fans, is a reflection of where Barcelona is now: a rudderless ship, an empty dream where the Cule “Special One” is going to their rivals Bayern. I have always felt that Pep abandoning Barça after their defeat to Chelsea, was a cowardly act, jumping ship when the going was good – the result is the serial defeats in Champions and to their arch rivals in Madrid. A season to forget.
Mourinho will be welcomed back to Stamford Bridge and maybe your fears are simply a result of knowing what will happen when Chelsea meet Barcelona in the Champions next season!
The Blues are strong, Bi Champions of Europe, holders of both European Cups, and only the 4th team in Europe to have won the 3 UEFA championships, together with Bayen, Juventus and Ajax and not even Barcelona can aspire to that extraordinary record!
And when Mourinho returns, Chelsea will be the team to avoid, because their manager is the best in the world….
(And by the way B.J Leonard, the goal line referee didn’t signal a clear penalty when Torres was bundled over in the area before the Benfica disallowed goal. But I would agree, TV playbacks, as in rugby, tennis, cricket, etc. is desperately needed in football today).
And you said Jimmy was biased !
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