Jose : We are Real Madrid, no-one likes us, we don't care
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We are Real Madrid, no-one likes us, we don't care (well, Jose doesn't anyway!)
THE GAME IN SPAIN
No popularity contest: Mourinho is interested in winning, not making friends with sparkling football
Jose Mourinho took his Real Madrid team abroad for a competitive fixture for the first time this week and had some of the club's stalwart purists wringing their hands at the indecency of it all.
For years the club has been obsessed with image. When President Florentino Perez presented Cristiano Ronaldo to 80,000 supporters a year ago, he spoke of the club needing to 'win the hearts of football fans everywhere'. It was the same message he delivered when David Beckham arrived six years earlier.
Real have not become the richest club of the 21st century by winning things, they've done it by assembling the most photogenic footballers into one team and never turning away the press or the public.
Mourinho is having none of it, and he took the blueprint and blew his nose in it this week.
The windows of the lobby of Le Cote de Saint Jacques hotel in Auxerre where the team were staying had been covered with brown paper from the floor to the ceiling.
Supporters used to mingle with the stars, now they can't even see Iker Casillas come down to ask reception why there are three shower caps and two shoe-shine kits in his room but no toothpaste.
When the hour of the press conference arrived the public face of one of football's most famous institutions was wearing his tie at half-mast and in no mood to answer three separate questions about the same player he had left out of the squad, and had never wanted the club to sign in the first place.
'You keep on about Pedro Leon as if he were Zidane or Maradona,' was the, now famous, reply to a third question on the subject before he proceeded to tell those asking the questions how to do their jobs. 'Why don't you ask me about who is playing instead of about who isn't. If I was a sports journalist my first question would be "who is in the team".'
He had also responded to a question about comments made by Sevilla's new coach Gregorio Manzano by asking: 'Who is Gregorio Manzano?' and when another asked if he could guarantee good football soon, he replied: 'Can you guarantee you will still be here tomorrow?'
With the public relations and player power dealt with he sent out a team with three defensive midfielders in it (Galatico blashphemy) to claim a 1-0 victory. It was his 35th win in Champions League competition – one more than the last manager to win the trophy with Real Madrid, Vicente Del Bosque.
Struggling: Ronaldo is in the middle of a goal drought,
and don't mention Pedro Leon (right) to Mourinho...
Real Madrid had kept clean sheets in their first two Champions League games for the first time since the 2002-03 season and were top of the group but no-one was very impressed.
They have scored just nine goals so far this season having scored 24 at the same stage of the last campaign - at least the general strike in Spain on Wednesday meant fewer people were reading the match reports.
Post match, the charm offensive continued. 'Can I get up now and leave?,' Mourinho asked sarcastically at the end of his press conference having being criticized for walking out 24 hours earlier.
And Cristiano Ronaldo refused to speak after the game. 'I'm anxious, I can't talk,' he was recorded by Spanish TV as saying as he made for the plane home – a jibe at the Spanish press who have put his goal drought down to an 'anxiety problem'.
'More goals less chewing gum' is being demanded of Mourinho, who has been getting through three packets per game – another unsightly image as far as some of the club's supporters are concerned.
Back in Madrid yesterday, training was behind closed doors and the daily player-press conference was cancelled. It's a bunker mentality that has also affected the fans.
The area of the club's Valdebebas training complex dedicated to autograph hunters was the first thing the coach removed. Real Moudrid is not interested in winning any popularity contests.
For now the powers-that-be are standing up for the man they gave a four-year contract to at the start of the season. But old habits die hard. Vice-president Emilio Butragueno forgot himself this week when he asked about that explosive press conference. Churning out one of Real Madrid's stock answers he replied simply: 'We will assess things at the end of the season'.
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indeed
i dun like RM
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now barca more arrogant.
i dont like barca.
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and also
i dun like Barca
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Originally posted by dragg:
now barca more arrogant.
i dont like barca.
Agreee. They seemed like they want every decisions of the game to go their way.
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Actually i think Madrid are rather disliked within the Football fraternity for the way they go about conducting their business. The way they can openly tap up players without getting caught is one of which that comes to mind.
But yes i agree that Barca is becoming arrogant and too proud of themselves. The way they conducted themselves over the Fabregas incident also left a sour taste.
Madrid fans are probably those that like the big names or brands that they have abundance of where as Barca most people liked them for their football. Im referring to the lesser fans of course, not the true die hard kind.
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Real has always been a dream club for players to play for, Their history is as rich as anyone's. Over the last few years, they have made some people dislike them because of the way they conducted themselves poaching players... And they are not just poaching good players from mid level clubs with a small fan base. But good players from big clubs. Clubs who themselves have hugh following of fans. So naturally, their arrogance will make a portion of these fans will grow to dislike them...
Barce on the other hand, is different during this time. The popularity of Barce has been on the up this past decade... They didn't poach many big players rather they develop a lot of their own and played attractive football along the way... So this style will gain them a new group of neutral fans. Fans who are not die hard but favour them over Real. But with every club, things will chance over time. A team cannot constantly stay successful without renewal as players aged. And the constant winning over the years has made them belief they are more special than the rest. And here lies the problem... When the production line no longer produce enough talent in numbers, the pressure to keep their success going means they have no choice but to go out and proach talent the same way Real does it. And this in turn will make them lose their neutral fans who once thought well of them...
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Valencia
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Originally posted by zocoss:
Real has always been a dream club for players to play for, Their history is as rich as anyone's. Over the last few years, they have made some people dislike them because of the way they conducted themselves poaching players... And they are not just poaching good players from mid level clubs with a small fan base. But good players from big clubs. Clubs who themselves have hugh following of fans. So naturally, their arrogance will make a portion of these fans will grow to dislike them...
Barce on the other hand, is different during this time. The popularity of Barce has been on the up this past decade... They didn't poach many big players rather they develop a lot of their own and played attractive football along the way... So this style will gain them a new group of neutral fans. Fans who are not die hard but favour them over Real. But with every club, things will chance over time. A team cannot constantly stay successful without renewal as players aged. And the constant winning over the years has made them belief they are more special than the rest. And here lies the problem... When the production line no longer produce enough talent in numbers, the pressure to keep their success going means they have no choice but to go out and proach talent the same way Real does it. And this in turn will make them lose their neutral fans who once thought well of them...
It doesn't help that arsene keep poaching players from barca in the first place....