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Controversy is the perfect word to describe what we call the ongoing war of words ahead of tonight's gigantic clash at the Nou Camp. So what doe the current world of football say about the prospect of a mouthwatering match tonight?
Ottmar Hitzfield Unimpressed With Jose Mourinho
Well, last week's match was marred by unwanted incidents which clearly irritated Jose Mourinho as portrayed in his post-match interview. The former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager launched a robust outburst on the Catalans, questioning their integrity as well as making unpleasant comments about Pep Guardiola.
Now, Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfield was apparently not too happy about his fellow manager's attitude on this matter as he blasted Jose Mourinho was his attack on the Barcelona team. Not only that, the former Bayern manager was also irked with the way Mourinho set up a very defensive minded Madrid team last week.
Accorsing to German magazine Kicker, Hitzfield said: "Luckily, Mourinho's destructive tactics, aimed solely at provoking and destroying the opponents' gameplan, did not work.
"Such a way of playing does not relate to the demands of Real. It's really shameful for Real Madrid. It harms the good name and image of this legendary club.
"I've met him at UEFA meetings and his behaviour is faithful to his image: arrogant, haughty, chewing gum and somewhat of a boor. Barca should make him pay on the pitch."
Guus Hiddink: Jose Mourinho Should Apologize To Barcelona
Meanwhile, Guus Hiddink wasn't also impressed with Mourinho's attitude in his attack on the Barcelona team and demanded that the 'Special One' should apologize for whatever he claimed during those interviews.
“Mourinho has gone too far. With all his critical remarks he wants to divert the attention from the way he made his team played.
“Before I knew it, he [Mourinho] got me involved. Jose compared the Real - Barca game with the Chelsea – Barca semi-final in 2009 when I was manager at Stamford Bridge. We missed out on the final, too.
“But the big difference is that we did not moan about conspiracies. I don’t agree with Mourinho at all on this. It is right that Chelsea was badly disadvantaged then, especially with the handball penalty we were denied in injury time. That was a clear mistake from the referee.
“A couple of days later, when all the emotions had gone, we realised we had been robbed of a Champions League final. But never, ever, did anybody at Chelsea claim there was a conspiracy. You just don’t say things like that. The thought would not even enter my mind. “But Mourinho does, so he goes too far. I think when he looks back at the video, he should make his apologies. If he does not do that, he is deliberately trying to change the truth for his own sake.’’ Pep Guardiola Leaps to The Defence Of His Players The Barcelona players were under severe criticism for the past one week or so for their wild antics in last week's Champions League win over Real Madrid. Pedro, Sergio Busquets and Dani Alves were all heavily blasted although Pep Guardiola has now defended his players by insisting that they too are professionals. 'I know my players very well and they are an example of professionalism and honesty. They can all make mistakes during the game, but they are exemplary human beings and in any case, the actions from the past are just that - in the past.'' Xavi Hernandez: Real Madrid Do Not Play Football Xavi was certainly not convinced by what he saw from a very defensive Madrid side last week and insisted that whatever Madrid did, they never played football at the Bernabeu last week. "[Jose] Mourinho is a controversial coach, he always has been and he uses that as his weapon. But I would like to talk more about football. "It saddens me to talk about things that have nothing to do with this great sport of football. We must not get into a war of words with Mourinho. Like Pep [Guardiola] says, Mourinho always wins the war of words, we need to speak on the field. "Madrid's play is not football. People want to see attractive and offensive football, not a team closed up behind, and the fans do not want to see a dry football pitch with long grass. Karim Benzema Reveals Optimism Ahead Of Clash Despite having 'mission impossible' task on their hand now, French striker Karim Benzema has spoken highly about Real Madrid's chances of beating Barcelona by stressing that anything can happen in football. "We will attack to score goals. I will do so too. We need goals, so we will look for them. "I hope we win here and reach the final. Many things can happen in 90 minutes of football and I hope we win the game. Nothing is set in stone in football and we can end up winning the tie. We will have to defend well in order to score goals. It's important to keep a clean sheet." Nothing Is Over Yet In The Champions League, says Iker Casillas Confidence is certainly high within the Real Madrid team after even Iker Casillas followed in the footsteps in Karim Benzema by reiterating their hopes ahead of the 2nd leg clash tonight. The Spanish goalkeeper is convinced that his teammates will be able to put in a spirited performance to overcome their deficit against the Catalans. “You never know what may happen. We will play in Barcelona knowing a final is set to take place in a month and that any of the four teams still in the championship may be in it." Gonzalo Higuain: We Can Reach Wembley Higuain is also another of Real Madrid's players who refused to concede the tie and kept on insisting that Los Blancos can make it to Wembley. He believes that if his teammates can stay focused as a team at the Nou Camp, who knows, Real Madrid might even nick it at the end. "We have a great chance in the Champions League and we will fight to the death. What matters is that we stick together to reach the final we are all so excited about. “We're good enough to win the tie, so we will try our best. We must be proud and humble. The fact that Barca defeated us in Madrid means we can also defeat them in Barcelona."
