EXTRA TIME WITH VUSUMUZI MOURINHO NDLOVU:
No to Ill-Tempered Matches
Going to their second legs on home soil Manchester United and Barcelona carry candles of genuine belief and hope with Wembley in their thoughts after comfortable away wins.
United made it clear who the bosses were, pressing and squeezing life out of a poor Schalke side that had pinned their hopes on Champions League record scorer: Raul Gonzalez. So poor was Schalke’s gameplan and approach such that even with a prolific scorer like Raul, they failed to trouble Man United’s rearguard, of coarse it was well organised but they should have tried to win the midfield battle.
Giggs, like old wine, keeps on getting better with age though the main threat was the sorcerer’s apprentice: Wayne Rooney. United mustn’t relax as if they have broken the Germany hoodoo yet because football is a funny old game and they may be in for a surprise.
It’s good to see the El Classicos coming to an end and we won’t miss them because we don’t like ill-tempered matches at all. Pep Guardiola twice called Mourinho this “f***ing man” after the Real Madrid mentor called him Pep. Someone must make it clear who should and shouldn’t call Josep Pep Guardiola; Pep.
Barca is known for beating 10 men in the later stages of the Champions League. They have a history of having decisions going their way [just like Man United in the EPL] when the going gets tough.
After the Champions League El Classico 1st leg Mourinho had this to say. “Barca should be ashamed if they go on to win this trophy…….. Why? Why does a fantastic team need this? Why? Football is equal to everyone. If they won by merit we would accept it. Why in a balanced game like tonight did it happen? Even last year we managed to beat them with 10 men. Why did they live us with 10 men? Why did they turn down four penalties against Chelsea three years ago? I hope one day I will have an answer. I always try to be honest but I just want to know why.
Taking the pressure off his players ahead of the 2nd leg at the Nou Camp, Mourinho said he thinks they as good as eliminated though they will try and get a result for their fans. He has to be careful for having much faith on Raul Albiol is risky. Albiol is one of the main reasons why Pellegrini left Madrid. Pathetic as he is, he is in the national team setup; they are no great defenders in Spain anyway. The sooner he stops playing him, the better. We have seen the Portuguese influence in the Los Blancos camp, its high time Mourinho throw the Argentine contingent into the fray.
Mourinho has showed that kind of hope and optimism that is borne of a desire to erase the years of anguish and sorrow Madrid has suffered at the hands of Barcelona, but that won’t happen because even those that didn’t realise which team Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter support or favour, now know.
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