Filed under: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Champions League, Football, Videos
It took Cesc Fabregas just 48 hours to achieve at Barcelona what he could not manage in six years at Arsenal as his new club beat Real Madrid to win the Spanish Super Cup. Or should that be eight minutes given that he came on as a late substitute in a 3-2 Nou Camp win that allowed Barca to take the trophy 5-4 on aggregate.Fabregas had a hand in Lionel Messi's sublime winner but was then the unwitting star of the moment that kicked off an almighty brawl between just about everybody employed by both sides.
And, inevitably, when that all calmed down it wasn't Fabregas everyone was talking about but Jose Mourinho.
With Real Madrid defender Marcelo having been shown a straight red card for the red mist challenge on Fabregas and players and coaching staff members pushing, shoving and shouting at each other in a touchline fracas that also led to red cards for Barca's David Villa and Real's Mesut Ozil Mourinho glided into the carnage like a dapper shark and tugged the ear of Barca coach Tito Vilanova.
Vilanova responded with a push but Mourinho was already gliding away again and preparing to give his target a little taunting pout.
Of course an ear tweak is not the most violent offence that football has witnessed but inevitably it was Mourinho who was in the hypothetical dock afterwards, accused not for the first time of being a dark force in the game. Of "destroying Spanish football" in the words of Barca defender Gerard Pique.
I do not talk about the brawl but it's a shame, it is not the first time and it's always the same," the former Manchester United man complained. "Someone has to take action on the matter. Mourinho is destroying Spanish football.
"There is talk about the Catalans but the problem is with Madrid. I think it's going too far. It cannot always end well. In the end this will end very badly."
As you would expect, Mourinho was also quick to have a go verbally. "From the first minute of the second half there we no ball boys and no balls," he claimed. "The way small teams do when they are in difficulty.
"I'm very happy for my team after what happened in the end. What happened, happened because somebody provoked the situation and it certainly wasn't a player from Real Madrid."
But one cannot help but conclude that Mourinho's position at Real will have been undermined by all this. In England he was a constantly controversial character but his antics were more theatrical than cynical and though the football his Chelsea team often played was stifling rather than entertaining that mattered not with the supporters because, after so many decades, they were winning.
The Special One's time at Inter Milan was short-lived as he became a hate figure in the eyes of the rest of Italian football but again he was successful, winning the Champions League after getting the better of Barca in the semis two seasons ago.
He was hired by Real to achieve precisely that but so far - a Copa del Rey final victory apart - he has not managed that. The 5-0 thrashing Real suffered at the Nou Camp last season is widely regarded as the club's biggest humiliation - though Mourinho refused to lebel it as such - and the more Barcelona go on winning the less his confrontational personal style and tactics on the field will be tolerated.
As for Fabregas, who had always known he would be spending a lot of time on this particular bench, it must have reminded him of his time at Arsenal, where the Gunners' technical superiority often goaded opponents into reckless challenges.
And while Mourinho remains in charge, there could be plenty more from Real in the next El Clasico...
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/08/18/jose-mourinho-stands-accused-yet-again-after-barcelona-brawl/
No comments:
Post a Comment