On a recent visit to Setúbal, near Lisbon, I noticed some massive billboards at the side of the road for an exhibition marking half a century on earth of the town’s most famous son. José Mourinho – 50 anos, documents the meteoric career of The Special One, through photographs of his many professional triumphs, with a few personal moments thrown in. It was a reminder of how revered he remains in Portugal - perhaps the country’s most famed living son, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. But on arriving back in Madrid, I realised how differently the Portuguese and Spanish regard him. In his adopted country, his reputation has been on a steady slide for much of the three seasons he has spent here, … [Read more...] about Spain has melted Mourinho’s aura of invincibility
cristiano ronaldo
La Liga: Messi’s Ballon d’Or highlights gulf dividing Barça and Real
As liga action resumed after a short break for Christmas, it seemed not much had changed in Spanish football. Barcelona continued their winning run and got their manager Tito Vilanova back following surgery after his cancer was found to have returned, José Mourinho was still stirring the pot at Real Madrid by continuing to leave Iker Casillas on the bench, Fernando Llorente still wants out of Athletic Bilbao and Lionel Messi once again stood in Cristiano Ronaldo’s way to take the FIFA Ballon d’Or. The Argentine was awarded the prize for the fourth consecutive time in Zurich on Monday night, beating teammate Andrés Iniesta and the Portuguese forward to the prestigious honour in a year when … [Read more...] about La Liga: Messi’s Ballon d’Or highlights gulf dividing Barça and Real
La Liga: Ronaldo sinks Atlético’s hopes in Madrid derby
On Saturday morning, 21,000 people piled into the Vicente Calderón in Madrid to roar support as their team stepped onto the turf, the loudest cheers reserved for golden boy Radamel Falcao. Yet the derbi that was to be played on matchday 14 would take place across town at the Santiago Bernabéu. This was no early kick-off, merely a final training session before the big game, but the fans had been summoned by coach Diego Simeone to show their affection for the players. The huge turnout spoke volumes. While every year since 1999, the question of whether Atlético can finally beat their neighbours Real Madrid was greeted with pessimism, the build-up to this weekend really was different because … [Read more...] about La Liga: Ronaldo sinks Atlético’s hopes in Madrid derby
La Liga: Barça still in the driving seat after thrilling ‘Clásico’
“When Madrid play Barcelona, the world stops” said José Mourinho, who this week took part in his 14th Clásico in two years. The game had the potential to effectively kill off his side’s aspirations of retaining their league title given that a defeat would have put Barcelona 11 points clear, a surely unassailable lead. A poor start to the campaign – Mourinho’s worst ever as a manager – meant this game was almost already a title decider. Win this and Hay Liga, lose and it would be all over at this early stage of the season. As if that was not enough tension, with growing calls for Catalan independence, matchday seven at the Camp Nou was set to be a chance for 100,000 culés to express … [Read more...] about La Liga: Barça still in the driving seat after thrilling ‘Clásico’
The ego has landed
To have one Portuguese egomaniac in your football club, as Oscar Wilde might have said, is unfortunate. To have two, is careless. In which case, Real Madrid are guilty of the latter. But the club’s argument for having José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo on its payroll is that they are the best in the world and their results speak for themselves. Mourinho’s weird tantrums and coded outbursts have become an accepted part of the Spanish football season – like the regular threat of a players’ strike, or unsubstantiated media claims that referees are being paid by Barça. Normally, Mourinho has some kind of objective when he performs them: pressuring for a new striker, for example, or agitating … [Read more...] about The ego has landed
La Liga: Ronaldo’s sulk overshadows Real Madrid win
On Sunday night, there was temporary relief in the Spanish capital. Real Madrid had finally secured their first win of the season, coming rather belatedly on matchday three against Granada at home. It capped a week in which Madrid had defeated Barcelona on away goals at the Santiago Bernabéu to lift their first piece of silverware, the Spanish Supercopa. But as journalists in the mixed zone looked for a few quotes and prepared for a slow news spell during the upcoming two-week international break, something altogether unexpected happened. For one, Cristiano Ronaldo who had notched a brace of goals on the night, stopped to talk. When one journalist innocently asked why he didn’t celebrate … [Read more...] about La Liga: Ronaldo’s sulk overshadows Real Madrid win
Why I no longer love Spain’s tiki-taka
“Since the Brazil team of 1970, I can’t remember a side that thrashed and thrilled in virtually all its games – the closest thing to that I have seen is this Spanish team.” (José Sámano, El País) When world and European champions Spain play Portugal for a place in the 2012 European Championship final on Wednesday night, part of me will be rooting for Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese. And if I don’t punch the air when Andrés Iniesta (or one of the other seemingly countless pixie-like midfielders) scores Spain’s first goal, it’s because I’m bored of tiki-taka. First of all, I should explain that I deeply admire what Spain have achieved over the last four years. Having struggled for … [Read more...] about Why I no longer love Spain’s tiki-taka
Ronaldo plans to cap a magic year by sinking Spain
Cristiano, nos vemos pronto (“Cristiano, we’ll see you soon”) screamed the front cover of Marca on Friday, such was the confidence that Spain would brush aside the French in Saturday’s European championship quarter-final and meet Ronaldo’s Portugal in the semis. And brush them aside they did, with little difficulty, despite La Roja’s unconvincing win in the final group game against Croatia. The France team – which before the 2-0 defeat to Sweden in their final group game had been on a 23-match unbeaten streak – produced very little in the game. Any hope for the French disappeared after the Sweden loss, when dressing room clashes involving Hatem Ben Arfa and Samir Nasri were widely … [Read more...] about Ronaldo plans to cap a magic year by sinking Spain
La Liga: Real Madrid and Barça ponder life without Guardiola
Another La Liga season has ended, but you can be sure that many of this season’s themes will carry on into the next. It was a truly exceptional year for Spanish football and in much the same way that the top two have been pushing each other to new heights in the last few years, the Real Madrid and Barcelona rivalry will ensure more records are broken in the coming season. It is a fact that Cristiano Ronaldo was quick to admit in a recent interview with CNN: "I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high. This is why Madrid and Barcelona are the best teams in the world because everyone pushes each other, not just me and Messi, but other … [Read more...] about La Liga: Real Madrid and Barça ponder life without Guardiola
La Liga: Tito Vilanova steps out of Barcelona’s shadows
As the curtain was raised on the liga season last summer, he was largely an anonymous figure known only by FC Barcelona aficionados, but one lone act would change that. As a melee that so often accompanies a Clásico broke out at the Camp Nou between the 22 men on the pitch, substitutes and technical staff, José Mourinho calmly strolled over and poked Tito Vilanova in the eye. The Barcelona assistant coach swiftly responded with a slap to the back of ‘The Special One’s’ head. Vilanova was no longer anonymous and while still in the background, his figure would loom large over Barça’s season, culminating in his appointment as the new head coach after four years of Pep Guardiola at the … [Read more...] about La Liga: Tito Vilanova steps out of Barcelona’s shadows