Defending is certainly an art but the average football fan will tell you that stylish football is about making accurate passes and attacking. Barcelona follow more the latter, and whereas some insist that their game is boring, others can’t see how soccer could be played better than the Catalans do.
“A result is not honourable if it’s not achieved through beauty”; this is apparently what many people think including the controversial Johan Cruyff. The Dutch legend has been the voice of many die-hard Barcelona supporters with these post-Clasico comments:
“[El Clasico’s 1-1 result] is great for Barcelona, knowing that Real Madrid started the match at Santiago Bernabeu with seven defenders. This match confirmed that Mourinho is a negative coach.
“He only cares about the result but he doesn't care much about playing good football. His decision to play seven defenders and three attackers was quite extreme.”
“Who cares?” Real Madrid fans may ask. “Football is not all about playing nicely,” says tennis superstar Rafael Nadal who spoke to Marca. “After a 5-0 [at the Camp Nou] Mourinho had to make a change.”
The biggest change on Saturday was that Pepe played as a midfielder to help Khedira and Alonso stop the flow between Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. For some, Mourinho’s decision was a smart one. For others, it didn’t deserve a single praise as Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano claimed.
“It's clear that Barcelona were superior to Madrid [during Saturday’s Clasico]... But Real Madrid were a team with no personality.
“Their approach was totally wrong. Trying to base a game around counter attacks is not the best way to try surprising your opponents.”
Should Jose Mourinho listen to Alfredo di Stefano’s piece of advice ahead of Wednesday’s Barcelona vs Real Madrid Copa del Rey final? What about the prospect of a heavy defeat to Barca like what happened on November 29 at the Camp Nou? Let’s see how the Special One will run Los Blancos’ engine...
