Mourinho's promises and mind games fall flat
0 
Jose Mourinho arrived at Real Madrid amid a media frenzy as Real hailed its 'Galactico' coach as the man to end the supremacy of bitter rival Barcelona.
The outspoken Portuguese as ever ruffled feathers off the pitch with his controversial comments, criticizing referees, kick-off times and accusing Barcelona of favouritism, however, on the pitch Real was again second best to its arch rival.
Mourinho landed his first trophy as Madrid boss with the Kings Cup, all the sweeter given that the final win was over Barcelona.
But the more prestigious pieces of silverware escaped Real as Barcelona won a third successive league crown and ousted its foe in the semifinals of the Champions League.
Real and its expensive collection of 'Galacticos' were widely criticized for negative tactics against Barca, while Mourinho had to endure a 5-0 mauling in his first Clasico and the end of his nine-year unbeaten home league run.
After two years without a trophy, the Kings Cup was welcome for Madrid fans but it could not compensate for painful losses to Barca, as the two teams met four times in 18 days, in Europe and a failure to keep pace in the league.
Mourinho came with a proven track record for success after winning league titles with Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan along with two Champions League titles, with the most recent being in Madrid when his Inter side lifted the coveted trophy.
He splashed out money on Ricardo Carvalho, Sami Khedira, Angel di Maria and Mesut Ozil and immediately talked of an unprecedented 'Grand Slam' of winning league titles in Italy, England and Spain.
Real had not won the Champions League since 2002 and Mourinho also vowed to try and bring a 10th European Cup and in the process become the first coach to win the trophy with three different clubs, having achieved it with Porto and Inter Milan.
The Portuguese had a forgettable debut as Real Madrid started with a drab 0-0 league draw at Real Mallorca, but things improved and 32 points from a possible 36 made Mourinho the most successful managerial debutant in La Liga.
On the pitch Real was building a reputation as a lethal counter-attacking team, using the fleet-footed wingers Cristiano Ronaldo and di Maria to cut through teams.
Heading into the first "El Clasico" at Nou Camp in late November, Real was a point above Barcelona and looking to go four points clear.
It was a first taste of the fixture for Mourinho and it turned into a nightmare as Barcelona thrashed Real 5-0 - a fifth successive defeat for the 'meringues'.
The loss was Mourinho's heaviest of his glittering managerial career as Real paid the price for coming out to attack and it had an impact on Mourinho's tactics for the four subsequent Clasicos.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments