Spanish journalist Diego Torres, who alleged that Jose Mourinho cried when he discovered that Alex Ferguson had appointed David Moyes as his successor at ManchesterUnited, has a new book out on the Portuguese tactician entitled The Special One: The Dark Side of Jose Mourinho, which tells, among other things, the story of the two-time Chelseamanager’s controversial three years in charge of Real Madrid. Extracts from the new book have been published in the London Times, and summarized below:
In the spring of 2011, Realfaced fierce rival Barcelona an unprecedented four times in three weeks in three different competitions: La Liga, the Copa del Rey final, and the UEFA Champions League semifinal first and second legs.Prior to the first of those games — the La Liga clash at the Bernabeu — Mourinho’s surprising lineup, which included Pepe in the position of holding midfielder, was leaked to theSpanish press.
“The Special One” was apoplectic: “Mourinho waited for the team in the dressing room before issuing a torrent of accusations and insults that distorted his face until he beganto sob loudly: ‘You’re traitors. I asked you not to speak with anyone about the team selection but you’ve betrayed me. It shows that you’re not on my side. You’re sons ofbitches. The only friend I have in this dressing room is [Esteban] Granero . . . and I’m not even sure that I can trust him any more. You’ve left me all on my own. You’re themost treacherous squad I’ve had in my life. Nothing more than sons of bitches.’”
Real would go on to tie the league game, 1-1. Four days later, it would win the Copa del Rey final, 1-0,before losing the UCL semifinal first leg, 2-0, at home, setting up what Mourinho described as an “impossible” task in the return leg at the Camp Nou. According to Torres, Mourinho’splan was to purposefully lose the second-leg so he could blame referee Wolfgang Stark for effectively deciding the series when he sent off Pepe in the first-leg. “The players exchangedlooks of disbelief,” Torres said. Even so, Real drew the return-leg 1-1, and lost the series, 3-1 on aggregate.