Jose Mourinho

[Flavia]

Ah. Didn't read the full press conference really. And I fully agree anyway, Iker has been going downhill for a while now with zero competition and getting a holy cow stature. Power move by Mou or not some idiots come and say benching Iker over a keeper who is performing better than him is insane. Just how stupid can you get?

That doesn't mean Lopez is better nor did Mourinho imply that. I prefer a on form Lopez than off form Casillas and so does Mou, and every sane football fan would.

Except that's not what mourinho said... He said he prefers lopez, period. Even with both on form, he said diego is more his "type" of gk, logically a better gk to him. This is not about football, as you keep implying.

 

[DucdeOrléans]

What is it with the simplistic Mourinho bashing? He has improved RM greatly looking at the overall picture. Nobody can deny that. Before his appointment RM were nobodies in European football. 3 seasons later and they have managed to qualify for 3 straight CL-semifinals.

He ended the complete hegemony of our club - at least to some short. More than most fans would like to admit.

He won the league of records last season playing brilliant football along the way and beating both the goalscoring and point record.
He has managed to win 1 CDR final and has qualified for another in the span of 3 years. Moreover he won 1 Spanish Supercup.

In general he has challenged the authorities at a club that was/is world famous for changing/firing managers at will and for being a club that never gave the full authority to the manager and this staff as it should be.

He made many brave and correct choices, such as letting both Raúl and Guti go. Now he is doing the same with Iker who is only going to get worse and whose actions have been destructive for the team all season long, to say the least.

Let's think about this for a second. Let's say that Valdés acted in the same way as Iker has. Would we support him or Tito? I would certainly take the side of the manager and the well-being of the team. Especially if goalkeeper x had outperformed Valdés, which is the case of López. No sane person can argue that López should be replaced due to his performances.

Strangely enough such conflicts where bound to happen at RM, which is a club that is, as previously mentioned, world famous for not giving the sufficient authority to the manager - to the great dismiss of the majority of madridistas for ages and something which has been the main cause for the instability in the club.

Mourinho has tried to change this but without the complete success. His first hurdle was Valdano but he cannot win the most important battle against the main "enemy" which is the Spanish press that lives and breathes for the mess they create in RM. It's not in their interest to have a stable club with the same manager. The dismiss of Mourinho, is in my eyes, only going to hurt RM on the long run so I understand the cheering among my fellow fans for a possible JM exit. JM is the best manager that they could have right now and is the only one with the credentials, abilities and charisma to change the institutional mess that is RM.

Notice how such conflicts rarely happened at his former clubs. Not in Porto, not in Chelsea (apart from the one he had with Abramovich - the whole Shevchenko affair, nor at Inter. All clubs he has been extremely successful at, to say the least, and all are not the absolute "top clubs". Everyone at those clubs from the players he managed to the presidents/owners he worked under are full of praise for him. Even Abramovich who was the man who sacked Mourinho a few years ago have begged him to return and offered him a economical carte blanche. Says a lot about him as a manager.

The English/British culture, in terms of managing a football club, is best suited for a type as Mourinho and there is no wonder that he has enjoyed his time there the most. Not to mention the English media who loves such characters and not like the Spanish one who loves nothing more than to bash characters such as Mourinho.

Also who in the world can blame him for the statements he gave today? All are absolutely spot on. If he made contradictory statements before/statements that were directly wrong, it was all done for the best interests of his team, club and himself. Something Zanetti just recently clarified when he was interviewed by Marca.

But obviously it's easier for the crowd to talk about his "dark ants" and other nonsense.

At the end of the day then Mourinho will have the last laugh simply because no other manager can beat his achievements and no other manager has transformed clubs from being largely "losers" to winners.

For that alone he deserves more respect.

 

[Stric]

Plus, Mourinho said he should have bought Diego Lopez in his first year at the club, which also means he thinks Lopez is the better keeper in general... or read between the lines - he and Iker can't stand each other.

 

[El Gato]

Except that's not what mourinho said... He said he prefers lopez, period. Even with both on form, he said diego is more his "type" of gk, logically a better gk to him. This is not about football, as you keep implying.

If Lopez played mediocre/rubbish you think Mou would still choose him over Iker?

 

[Flavia]

If Lopez played mediocre/rubbish you think Mou would still choose him over Iker?

No, he would play adan
I don't dispute diego lopez is doing great so far, it's not it. But mourinho's reasons go beyond. If he was to stay at rm, iker could be on the form of his life, and he still would only play if lopez was really bad, or suspended.

 

[Irish_Cules]

Ye its obvious that the reasons for dropping Casillas were not footballing. Casillas' form has dropped but not enough to be replaced by Adan. Lopez has come in and done brilliantly and since he has arrived his performances have earned him the no1 spot ahead of Iker. But lets not pretend that the initial reasons for dropping Iker were footballing. Everybody knows it has to do with the tension between him and Mourinho.

 

[DucdeOrléans]

Ye its obvious that the reasons for dropping Casillas were not footballing. Casillas' form has dropped but not enough to be replaced by Adan. Lopez has come in and done brilliantly and since he has arrived his performances have earned him the no1 spot ahead of Iker. But lets not pretend that the initial reasons for dropping Iker were footballing. Everybody knows it has to do with the tension between him and Mourinho.

It's a combination. López has not only outperformed Iker clearly but the former was also the stitch all season long. It's pretty clear that Iker, at the expense of RM and the team, has caused damage to the club and its stability for purely selfish reasons alone instead of taking it as a man and fight for the spot/improve.

I would be furious if Valdés pulled off something similar no matter his current status. Status does not equal immunity.

I can't believe that followers of football still have not learnt not to take everything Mourinho says to the press at face value.....

But it is obviously easier to spin it off as Mourinho being against "San" Iker purely for personal reasons. Like that ever was a characteristic of Mourinho. If anyone doubts that then they might read about his time at his former clubs....

There is apparently still a myth of Iker being the same as just a few years ago. That's not the case for anyone who has watched Iker regularly for the past 1 year.

 

[Gilberto]

Ye its obvious that the reasons for dropping Casillas were not footballing. Casillas' form has dropped but not enough to be replaced by Adan. Lopez has come in and done brilliantly and since he has arrived his performances have earned him the no1 spot ahead of Iker. But lets not pretend that the initial reasons for dropping Iker were footballing. Everybody knows it has to do with the tension between him and Mourinho.

Yup. I think Casillas is one of the world's best, if not the best goalkeeper. Although Lopez is not bad, Casillas should always be playing!

 

[El Gato]

Continued disrespect for Lopez. Nice.

 

[FCBarca]

You're deluded Ducde, trying to justify a clown like Mou by claiming his words/actions can be taken at face value...Is there a more duplicitous footballing personality than this snake?...And somehow giving the benefit of doubt to this shit stirrer rather than an institution like Casillas while managing to deem him selfish?...Ridiculous

This had nothing to do with Iker acting bigger than the team, no one from the club would've tolerated petulance even from a legend like Casillas...It's plain to see this had to do with power and why even a legend & gentleman like Valdano was kicked to the curb - he was trying to keep Mou in line...And Mou doesn't play nice let alone honest...Iker, like others in the lockerrom, got tired of Mou's act...an act that always wore out everywhere he's managed

 

[Ursegor]

The fact that even Barcelona fans support Iker shows that Mourinho is right tbh. The guy had reached a status which he never deserved. At some point MARCA were campaigning for him to win the Ballon d'Or (http://www.marca.com/2012/07/03/en/football/national_teams/1341333173.html). Which was ridiculous. Shit in the air. Shit footwork. Great shotstopper (like many Spanish goalkeepers). Lucky to be playing for great teams such as Real Madrid and Spain. Real Madrid's version of Pique so to speak if you look at his "fame to actual performance ratio". You put a random decent goalkeeper in his place and he won't look out of place.

Point proven.

Fake personality as well. The great captain of Spain publicly claiming that Fabregas just dove when Marcelo scissor kicked him, eh?

 

[Flavia]

someone really needs to make an emoticon out of this pic

 

[DucdeOrléans]

The fact that even Barcelona fans support Iker shows that Mourinho is right tbh. The guy had reached a status which he never deserved. At some point MARCA were campaigning for him to win the Ballon d'Or (http://www.marca.com/2012/07/03/en/football/national_teams/1341333173.html). Which was ridiculous. Shit in the air. Shit footwork. Great shotstopper (like many Spanish goalkeepers). Lucky to be playing for great teams such as Real Madrid and Spain. Real Madrid's version of Pique so to speak if you look at his "fame to actual performance ratio". You put a random decent goalkeeper in his place and he won't look out of place.

Point proven.

Fake personality as well. The great captain of Spain publicly claiming that Fabregas just dove when Marcelo scissor kicked him, eh?

+

This whole "Saint Iker" this and that is all hot air. Plenty of comments that prove that. Old and new. Whether or not him being the mate of Xavi or not, LOL. Xabi Alonso is a great friend of Xavi as well. Still a prick.

Mind you, Iker is still a nice character. But that's not what it is all about. He WAS also a very great goalkeeper. He is not anymore and that will show next season should he regain his place under a new manager.

You're deluded Ducde, trying to justify a clown like Mou by claiming his words/actions can be taken at face value...Is there a more duplicitous footballing personality than this snake?...And somehow giving the benefit of doubt to this shit stirrer rather than an institution like Casillas while managing to deem him selfish?...Ridiculous

This had nothing to do with Iker acting bigger than the team, no one from the club would've tolerated petulance even from a legend like Casillas...It's plain to see this had to do with power and why even a legend & gentleman like Valdano was kicked to the curb - he was trying to keep Mou in line...And Mou doesn't play nice let alone honest...Iker, like others in the lockerrom, got tired of Mou's act...an act that always wore out everywhere he's managed

Why am I being deluded? For stating the facts and for not falling for all the Mourinho bashing here that is mostly limited to my fellow Barcelona fans for very obvious reasons? My opinion is shared by many madridistas in Spain. The point is that being a legend does not equal to immunity.

Now when it is clear that Mourinho is leaving the mess that is RM, it is much easier to blame him for everything when it was clear all season long that Casillas was the stitch and the destructive part in the conflict. Purely for selfish reasons. No other such conflict has ever taken during Mourinho's hugely successful managerial career.

A club legend and one of the most respected football personalities (Zanetti) just confirmed that more or less. Are you going to accuse him of "dark ants" as well?

Can't you see that Mourinho has tried to change the structures of a failed organization/system that is RM? Obviously figures such as Valdano who represented that rotten culture were not going to like those changes since he has been well-known for underlying the role of the manager. This goes far back in time than just Mourinho's tenure. All the RM managers, apart from Mourinho (only due to his immense credentials and personality) have been mere puppets without the acquired influence to create stability at RM.

Mourinho was the only manager, since Del Bosque who managed to pull RM in some kind of cohesive direction. Tried to change the rotten aspects at the club despite immense pressure from the xenophobic Spanish media and figures such as Valdano who constantly tried to undermine Mourinho.

Let's face it. Iker has not performed particularly well while López has sealed his place. Deservedly so. Iker has simply not played well enough to say that he is untouchable.

Anyway why should I even care? At the end of the day Mourinho's exit is not going to help RM and for all I care Iker could continue at RM as the starting goalkeeper for another decade since it would only be in FCB's interest IMO.

Everyone in the squad tired or JM? You mean only this season after it was known that he would be gone and that he did not want to waste his time in a destructive environment and in country where even his children where insulted for simply being the children of Mourinho.

In the first two seasons the RM players where willing to give everything for him. His results were great and he improved the team in every single department especially on the European scene which has been the priority of RM for 10 straight years. He turned them from European nobodies to 3 times straight CL-semifinal participants and no sane person can argue against such achievements.

All during an era where we had complete hegemony until he arrived.

Even if we assume that Mourinho is the evil man that most Barcelona fans here yell (as expected BTW) then there is no way that Iker is the innocent "saint" that you try to pull him off as. No way. Especially not since it is well-known that was the stitch all season long.

Great captain, ah?

 

[Kerrybai]

If Mou doesn't get his way & isn't fired soon, I say Mou starts a fire in the dressing room (His own) for the CDR Final

Ha burning down the dressing room and walking away with his 20 million euro pay off. Now that would be headline news.

 

[slim boogy]

Wow. Mou the guy who poked tito in the eye like a coward?

Nothing honourable about this snake