Mourinho savors triumph over Barca
Source: Agencies |
April 30, 2010, Friday
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JOSE Mourinho expects history to remember Inter Milan's players after reaching the Champions League final, a victory that denied Barcelona a chance to repeat its 2009 triumph at the stadium of its bitter rival.
"If I had to define my players, then I'd say inside 40 years they'll still be talked about," Mourinho said after Barcelona beat the Italian champion 1-0 but lost out on a trip to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium on May 22 after losing 2-3 on aggregate.
Inter has a chance to win its third European Cup and first since 1965 as it returns to the final for the first time in 38 years to play Bayern Munich, which beat Lyon to reach the final.
Mourinho labeled Inter's victory over two legs a "mythical, historic" one as the Serie A leader overcame Thiago Motta's 28th-minute sending off. Inter dug in and stifled Barcelona's attack - led by world player of the year Lionel Messi - with a defensive game plan.
"The style of Inter is the blood style, not the skin style. When you leave the field you don't leave the skin, you leave the blood," said Mourinho.
Water sprinklers were also turned on during the celebration as Mourinho's acrimonious relationship with Barcelona - where he worked for four years - continued to fester. Mourinho, who has been linked with a move to Madrid, will likely be welcomed to the Spanish capital by Madrid fans with open arms.
"Only an idiot would think that you could turn this hate into love. Something has been created that is impossible to transform into something positive," the Portuguese coach said. "If I come here all the time and I play all the time and I lose all the time they love me. That's the truth."
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola had started with only three regular defenders and although his players had a whopping 76 percent of the possession, with Xavi and Sergio Busquets dominating the midfield, they managed only four shots on target. It was left to central defender Gerard Pique, thrown forward as an extra striker as the clock ticked down, to give Barcelona hope with a superb 84th-minute strike, but Inter held firm.
Guardiola said Motta's sending off disrupted the flow of the play.
"The sending off shaped the game because they just sat back and attacking is always much harder than defending," the 39-year-old former Barca player said. "We were missing some continuity in our game ... When there are nine players defending in the area it's not easy. We tried but they defended very well."
Mourinho had accused Barcelona of being obsessed with reaching the final at the home of bitter rival Real Madrid. Barca president Joan Laporta called him "second-rate psychologist".
Mourinho wound up the home fans before the first whistle, casually strolling out into the centre of the pitch, hands in pockets, looking every inch a man enjoying an amble in the countryside before the teams came out to warm up.
The cacophony of whistles appeared to egg him on, his histrionics on the touchline constantly catching the attention of the cameras. At the final whistle he milked the moment, index finger raised in the air as furious Barca fans rained bottles and other objects down onto the pitch.
Even a brush with Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who attempted unsuccessfully to force Mourinho off the pitch, failed to ruffle the Inter coach as security staff intervened.
"I think a team who win everything don't know how to lose. They are bad losers and so am I," Mourinho said. "Valdes thought I was provoking the home fans. I was going to celebrate with my fans. It's my right."
"If I had to define my players, then I'd say inside 40 years they'll still be talked about," Mourinho said after Barcelona beat the Italian champion 1-0 but lost out on a trip to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium on May 22 after losing 2-3 on aggregate.
Inter has a chance to win its third European Cup and first since 1965 as it returns to the final for the first time in 38 years to play Bayern Munich, which beat Lyon to reach the final.
Mourinho labeled Inter's victory over two legs a "mythical, historic" one as the Serie A leader overcame Thiago Motta's 28th-minute sending off. Inter dug in and stifled Barcelona's attack - led by world player of the year Lionel Messi - with a defensive game plan.
"The style of Inter is the blood style, not the skin style. When you leave the field you don't leave the skin, you leave the blood," said Mourinho.
Water sprinklers were also turned on during the celebration as Mourinho's acrimonious relationship with Barcelona - where he worked for four years - continued to fester. Mourinho, who has been linked with a move to Madrid, will likely be welcomed to the Spanish capital by Madrid fans with open arms.
"Only an idiot would think that you could turn this hate into love. Something has been created that is impossible to transform into something positive," the Portuguese coach said. "If I come here all the time and I play all the time and I lose all the time they love me. That's the truth."
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola had started with only three regular defenders and although his players had a whopping 76 percent of the possession, with Xavi and Sergio Busquets dominating the midfield, they managed only four shots on target. It was left to central defender Gerard Pique, thrown forward as an extra striker as the clock ticked down, to give Barcelona hope with a superb 84th-minute strike, but Inter held firm.
Guardiola said Motta's sending off disrupted the flow of the play.
"The sending off shaped the game because they just sat back and attacking is always much harder than defending," the 39-year-old former Barca player said. "We were missing some continuity in our game ... When there are nine players defending in the area it's not easy. We tried but they defended very well."
Mourinho had accused Barcelona of being obsessed with reaching the final at the home of bitter rival Real Madrid. Barca president Joan Laporta called him "second-rate psychologist".
Mourinho wound up the home fans before the first whistle, casually strolling out into the centre of the pitch, hands in pockets, looking every inch a man enjoying an amble in the countryside before the teams came out to warm up.
The cacophony of whistles appeared to egg him on, his histrionics on the touchline constantly catching the attention of the cameras. At the final whistle he milked the moment, index finger raised in the air as furious Barca fans rained bottles and other objects down onto the pitch.
Even a brush with Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who attempted unsuccessfully to force Mourinho off the pitch, failed to ruffle the Inter coach as security staff intervened.
"I think a team who win everything don't know how to lose. They are bad losers and so am I," Mourinho said. "Valdes thought I was provoking the home fans. I was going to celebrate with my fans. It's my right."
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