Jose Mourinho: Flop against Barcelona
Almost everyone can associate greatness, expertise, charisma and creativity to Jose Mourinho and his work as a professional coach, but only few can deny the fact that he has not very often exhibited his sharpest characteristics in Barcelona’s Camp Nou.
An unbroken curse
Mourinho first met Barcelona at the Camp Nou in February 2005, when Maxi Lopez and Samuel Eto’o humbled his Chelsea side 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. There were improvements in March 2006 when the Portuguese manager – then still in London – saw his boys come from a goal down to draw 1-1 in the Round of 16.
The following year, the Special One led the Blues for the last time at the Camp Nou against Barcelona in the Champions League’s group stage. Once again, his side’s efforts were not enough to down the Catalans as the match ended 2-2.
Mourinho’s first encounter in Cataluña with Inter Milan was not any better – with strikes from Gerard Pique and Pedro Rodriguez sealing a 2-0 victory for Los Cules. There was no revenge later on as the two giants met again in the second leg of the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League semi-finals; but Mourinho did not have much to worry about as his side had after all secured an odd qualification into the final despite a 1-0 defeat at the Camp Nou.
29 November 2010 is probably the most unforgettable date for haters of the Special One. On that day, a compact Barcelona side did all it could to humiliate a helpless Castellan team 5-0 in Mourinho’s very first Clasico.
After a brief thought, one can cite the former Porto coach’s vital 1-0 win in the “Barcelona vs Real Madrid” match in the 2011 Copa del Rey final. However, a bit of knowledge on the allocation of match venues would do to remember that the encounter in question was played at the Mestalla Stadium.
Unfortunately, various issues have prevented Jose Mourinho from triumphing at the Camp Nou since his appalling defeat in 2009 – resulting in the Special One drawing twice and losing once in his arch-rivals’ home since then. He will be getting another golden chance to clarify his image and break his long-standing curse on 21 April 2012. Will he manage to pull through?
“In the locker room, I heard [some players] say it was impossible to win [at the Camp Nou]”
El Clasico on Saturday evening is a match everyone will be following due to its complexity from all angles. Thus, failure to make “the impossible” will just decrease the thrust most Real Madrid fans have in their team and their coach.
Madrid in control of Barcelona’s fate
It could be painful for fervent Barcelona fans to accept this fact, but it is more a fact than a belief; and a clear understanding of Madrid and Barca’s situation this season suffices to confirm that Real could do a great deal of damage to their rivals’ treble dream.
Yes, Pep Guardiola and his men could be on their way to winning another treble after their top feat in 2009. The Copa del Rey finalists are still in contention for La Liga and can still eye success in the UEFA Champions League.
But they have not grabbed anything yet… All three on-going competitions have yet to be won, and all Barcelona can do is keep working hard to reach their goals. This goes without saying that – in the worst case – they could lose it all and finish cupless this season.
This is nevertheless the unthinkable for the Blaugrana. Hence, if the time has not come for them to earn glory, then they should at least make sure that they secure what they already have and make the most out of every opportunity they get.
Their next big task at present is in El Clasico. Obviously, Real Madrid’s wish to do themselves good by maintaining their 4-point gap at the top of La Liga table means harm to Barcelona, who face the danger of having to surrender the league title.
To turn things in their favour, the Catalans will have to battle back with everything they have. The trick now lies in their Champions League home encounter against Chelsea in mid-week – a game ahead of which Barca have lost the advantage.
At this point, the balance between capabilities and targets needs to be done. Losing El Clasico could mean game over and mark the end of hopes for the treble dream. On the other hand, giving everything they have for the sake of La Liga title against Los Blancos could add even more fading to the idea of making an energetic comeback against Chelsea.
With self-belief and support serving as extra fuel for their journey, it will be up to Barcelona to prove to the world once again that giving up is not part of their ideology.
