Filed under: Champions League, Football
The tactics Jose Mourinho uses in the Champions League knockout stages couldn't be clearer: his team plays defensively to try to squeeze the life out of the opposition and if that doesn't work he switches to all-out attack.On his own in the press conference afterwards.
Unsurprisingly, Uefa have reacted swiftly to his eloquent rant in the wake of Barcelona's 2-0 semi-final, first-leg victory in the Bernabeu, which saw his Real Madrid side reduced to 10 men with the game still goalless.
Mourinho more or less claimed the entire competition was fixed so Barcelona would win it, hinting that the Catalan club's shirt sponsors and Spanish football federation president Angel Maria Villar could all be part of his elaborate conspiracy theory.
"It's clear that against Barcelona you have no chance," the former Chelsea manager said. "I don't know if it's the publicity of Unicef, I don't know if it's because they are very nice, but they've got this power. I don't know if it's the friendship of Villar at Uefa, where he is vice-president."
Uefa have charged Real on five counts, with the Mourinho's rant just one of them. They have also been charged in relation to Pepe's sending off, Mourinho's own dismissal to the stands, supporters throwing missiles on the pitch and the pitch invasion that followed.
Uefa is also looking at the red card shown to Barca reserve keeper Jose Pinto at half-time in their 2-0 win and both cases will be heard by the Uefa Control and Disciplinary Body on 6 May.
Mourinho has already admitted his side stands little chance of reversing the score-line next week but his words were not the only significant ones uttered by a famous Portuguese after the final whistle on Wednesday night: Cristiano Ronaldo, the closest Real have to the genius of Lionel Messi, admitted he is unhappy with the way the team plays under the Special One.
Did the £80 million forward enjoy playing as a lone striker with little support in the biggest game of the season? "No, I don't like it but I have to adapt to what is asked of me," he declared dejectedly before adding "This is the way it is. We have a strategy.
"Being honest, it is true that we did not have a shot on target when it was 11 against 11 but 0-0 is not a bad result at home. We didn't play well but the game was under control."
All this suggests a parting of the ways is imminent and you would bet on it being the manager rather than the star player who goes. Just as he was at Chelsea, Mourinho was hired to win the Champions League and his negative tactics would therefore be tolerated just as long as that has a chance of happening.
Uefa already had their beady eyes on him this season, handing him a one-match ban after appearing to instruct Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos to be deliberately sent off against Ajax so they would serve a suspension before the knockout phase.
It's that sort of cynicism that enables Barca not so much to claim the moral high ground but rather to build a fort on it.
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