the opportunity to win a Champions League final at the Bernabeu,
Real’s worst nightmare – he had agreed a deal with Mourinho
straight away.
Days after winning the final with Inter, Mourinho took a stroll with
Perez through the Bernabeu museum. The pair passed the European
Cup. “I miss it,” said the Madrid president. “I miss it, too, and it’s only
a few days since I won it,” replied Mourinho.
In his first season at the helm, Real Madrid thrashed Tottenham to
reach their first semi-final since 2003. There, Mourinho was denied
by Barcelona’s revenge. He had ramped up the Clasico rivalry to such
a toxic level that it all spilled over. In the first leg, at the Bernabeu,
Pepe was sent off, Mourinho followed him, and Messi scored twice
in the final 15 minutes to give Barça a 2-0 victory. Mourinho blamed
German referee Wolfgang Stark, hinting officials somehow always
favoured Barça. Pepe stormed into Barcelona’s dressing room after
the match, sparking a brawl.
Madrid’s stars, Cristiano Ronaldo included, had been infuriated by
Mourinho’s plan to play for a 0-0 draw at home. Such tactics may
have been acceptable at Porto or Inter, but not at Real.
Things got worse when Mourinho outlined his plan for the second
leg: to play for a 0-0 draw again. “If it ends 0-0, we can say the tie
was decided by the ref in the first leg,” he told a disbelieving squad,
according to Diego Torres’ biography, The Special One.A heated discussion ensued between Mourinho and Ronaldo, as
club advisor Zinedine Zidane watched from a corner of the dressing
room. Forty minutes into the meeting, Mourinho asked Zidane what
he thought. “You’re very good players and you should try to beat
Barcelona,” said Zizou. “We are Real Madrid. Real Madrid always go
to win.” Mourinho walked out of the room.
Los Blancos drew 1-1 at the Camp Nou. A year later, they won La
Liga with a record 100 points and 121 goals, and Mourinho signed
a new four-year deal, but La Decima eluded them once more. Real
again lost in the semis, beaten by Bayern Munich on penalties with
misses from Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos. Mourinho reacted to
Ramos’ ballooned effort with cartoonish incredulity.
In 2012-13, tensions erupted as Barça ran away with the league.
“The relationship with some key players was difficult: Ramos, Pepe,
Cristiano and Iker Casillas, who was relegated to the bench,” says
Marca journalist Jon Prada. “He had problems with the press. Half of
the supporters didn’t like him. They were divided about Mourinho.”
Yet Perez blamed the players, and told journalists this before the
Champions League semi’s first leg. That afternoon, they got wind of
what he’d said. That night, with Diego Lopez and not Casillas in goal,
a downbeat Madrid were overwhelmed by Dortmund’s gegenpress
and Robert Lewandowski, who scored all four goals in a 4-1 victory.
A 2-0 victory at the Bernabeu was not enough to salvage the tie,
and in the post-match press conference, Mourinho hinted that he
was returning to Chelsea. “I’m loved by some clubs, especially one,”
he said. “In Spain, it’s different. Some people hate me.”
Managing Real Madrid was an emotionally draining experience for
Mourinho. Aside from a very brief spell at Benfica in his early days,
this was the first time he had failed in his main objective. He hadn’t
won La Decima. No longer did he guarantee success. “It’s difficult to
be manager of Real Madrid, and it was a turning point in his career,”
says Prada. “Since then, he hasn’t had the success he had before.”
A year after Mourinho’s departure, Madrid sealed La Decima and
Carlo Ancelotti joined the list of managers to lift the European Cup
with a second club – just as Jupp Heynckes had done
a year earlier. “When Madrid won it, I was happy,” Mourinho said
later, trying very hard to hide the melancholy in his voice.CHELSEA V S ATLETICO MADRID 2014
“Eden isn’t so ready to lay down his life for the team; if you see
Atletico’s first goal, you understand where the mistake was”The match had reached the 44th minute at Stamford Bridge, and
Mourinho was on course for his maiden Champions
League final as Chelsea manager. In his first season
back at the club, the Blues led Atletico Madrid 1-0,mAnAGInG REAL mADRID WAS EmOTIOnALLY
DRAInInG FOR mOURInHO. HE HADn’T WOn
LA DECImA. THIS WAS THE FIRST TImE HE’D
FAILED In HIS mAIn OBJECTIVE AT A CLUB
Below Lifting Ol’
Big Ears for a
second time after
outwitting former
mentor Van Gaal in
the Bernabeu
showpiece
JOSE
MOURInHO