Showing posts with label Mourinho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mourinho. Show all posts
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Spanish Football: Mourinho wreaks Real Madrid havoc
Jose Mourinho: "It's very easy to analyse the thing with Pepe. His problem has a name, and that name is Raphael Varane. It isn't easy for a man aged 31 with a lot of experience behind him to be blown out of the water by a kid of 19."
With Barcelona's title coronation imminent, Real Madrid's outspoken manager couldn't resist a few scathing digs at those around him...
At Chelsea and subsequently Inter, Jose Mourinho was famed for his father-like love for his players and fierce loyalty to those in the dressing room. However, a tempestuous three-year tenure at Real Madrid now looks set to end in bitter acrimony.
Mourinho, overwhelming favourite for the Chelsea job at around 1.330/100 and second favourite to arrive at Old Trafford after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement announcement, poured further petrol on the fire he began in the wake of Madrid's Champions League exit to Borussia Dortmund last week.
The Portuguese boss followed up his candid post-match press conference comments, in which he all but pledged his immediate future to managing back in England, by launching scathing attacks on a few of his Madrid players and the club's former managers.
Firstly, he defended his achievements of reaching three Champions League semi-finals at the Bernabeu by reeling off the names of 18 previous managers who hadn't brought home the trophy either.
"Eighteen coaches in 21 years, five semi-finals. Meanwhile, that rubbish Mourinho got to three in three years. Three in three after five in 21 years? That shows that it is not easy. I repeat: I don't want to 'nearly' get there, nearly is nothing to me. But that league record is mine."
But his most stinging comments were reserved for dropped goalkeeper Iker Casillas, by directly suggesting that he should have brought in his replacement at the end of his first season instead of his second.
Mourinho then topped that this week with an even more blatant rant about Pepe, who he has dropped in favour of teenage centre-back Raphael Varane, after the Portuguese defender stuck up for Casillas, saying:
"It's very easy to analyse the thing with Pepe. His problem has a name, and that name is Raphael Varane. It isn't easy for a man aged 31 with a lot of experience behind him to be blown out of the water by a kid of 19."
Anything less than a win for Real over sixth-placed Malaga on Wednesday night, where with Los Blancos rated at 1.292/7, will see Barca lift the title with four games to spare.
Of course, Mourinho still has one more chance of securing another trophy before parting company at the Bernabeu when his side take on Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey
final next Friday priced at 1.282/7 for glory.
There are no comments on this article.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Against All Odds: Mourinho to mastermind one last victory
"The last four results at the Nou Camp between these pair have been 2-2, 3-2, 1-2 and 2-2, so three of those four would be good enough to send Real through to the final to play either Atletico or Sevilla."
Barcelona are odds-on for the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final with Real Madrid and despite the match being played at the Nou Camp, Paul Robinson thinks that their price is a touch short.
Barcelona put their Champions League setback behind them on Saturday by beating Sevilla 2-1 in La Liga. Things weren't looking too rosy at half time though as Barca were 1-0 down and staring at back to back defeats. Credit where it's due though and things had turned around by the hour mark thanks to goals from David Villa and Lionel Messi.
Tito Vilanova is still battling health issues but that hasn't stopped his side from running away with the league title and they currently sit 12 points clear of Atletico Madrid in second and 16 ahead of Real in third. The Champions League is obviously the priority now, with the Copa del Rey bottom of the list.
It's been a disappointing season for Real Madrid and it's looking likely that Jose Mourinho will leave once it ends. The 'Special One' will want to silence his critics before he goes though and the only way he could possibly do that is if he wins the Champions League and probably this competition as well.
Madrid face a huge eight days starting tonight as they play Barcelona again in La Liga on Saturday and then they go to Old Trafford a week today for the second leg of their Champions League tie with Manchester United. Given that they are so far adrift of Barca in the league, it is likely that they will go all out for progress in the Copa del Rey this evening and then possibly rest a few key personnel at the weekend with the United game in mind.
The first leg of this tie finished 1-1 at the Bernabeu a month ago so it's evenly poised ahead of the match, which can be seen live on Sky Sports One at 20:00. The last four results at the Nou Camp between these pair have been 2-2, 3-2, 1-2 and 2-2, so three of those four would be good enough to send Real through to the final to play either Atletico or Sevilla.
Taking everything into account, Barcelona's odds of 1.774/5 are just a shade too short for me, and that's why I'm making them my lay of the day.
Recommended Bet
Lay Barcelona v Real Madrid @ 1.774/5
Wagered: 56 pts
Returned: 51.11 pts
P/L – 4.89 pts (after commission)
(2012 P/L: + 9.60 pts)
There are no comments on this article.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
La Liga Weekend Matches: Sporting revenge for Mourinho
Spanish Football 
/ Tobias Gourlay / 13 April 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Sporting Gijon probably won't win at the Bernabeu again this season
"Pep Guardiola’s men are in cruise control at the moment, getting ahead before half-time and staying there until full-time in each of their last ten league games"
Real Madrid play one of the campaign's easier-looking fixtures and Tobias Gourlay expects them to make no mistake at home to Sporting Gijon - not like last season
Real Madrid v Sporting Gijon
Saturday 19:00
Real [1.07] Sporting [55.0] draw [18.0]
Real Madrid are on a run of difficult fixtures at the moment: Valencia, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao... This match is the exception.
Sporting finally showed the gumption their coach is renowned for on Wednesday night, coming from behind twice to beat Levante with a late Gaston Sangoy goal. Javier Clemente's team are still neck deep in the mire, however, because Villarreal also won in midweek and Sporting remain seven points short of safety.
And it is not clear that gumption is enough to beat Real Madrid, even when the boys from the Bernabeu are shorn of their key playmaker. Xabi Alonso's loss of form goes some way to explain why Real have failed to beat Malaga, Villarreal and Valencia in recent weeks and this one-match suspension might help him. This is a good game to miss too - Sporting have earned only two points from 27 on their most recent away trips.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the city derby with Atletico on Wednesday. He's matched last season's record (40 league goals) and will pass it at some point very soon. But he's also just one card away from a suspension that would rule him out of el clasico next Saturday night. Real might actually be better off without him for that match (he doesn't usually work hard enough off the ball to contain Barcelona) but Jose Mourinho won't see it that way and is likely to protect his top-scorer once - if - this game is won.
Perhaps this will save Sporting from thrashing, but perhaps it won't. The northerners have conceded more goals than anyone in the last 15 minutes of league games this season (18) and that is exactly the time that Real are most lethal, preying on tired opponents.
It is a concern that Mourinho will be keen to preserve other players too for stiffer challenges ahead, but he will also remember that Sporting won this fixture last season and ended his staggeringly long run of home league games without defeat. They must be made to pay for the impertinence.
This column's backed Real to score at least four goals a few times this season. What Real have often done is score exactly four goals (six times in 16 home games). The defence is in decent shape at the moment, conceding only twice in the last five at the Bernabeu, and 4-0 deserves a punt at [7.6].
Recommended Bet: Back 4-0 @ [7.6] in Correct Score 2 Home
Levante v Barcelona
Saturday 21:00
Levante [17.0] Barcelona [1.22] draw [7.8]
The Handicap Win market is one way to work out which teams in a given league have most outperformed pre-season expectations. In the Primera Division, Levante are heavily odds-on to win this market. Before a ball was kicked they were given a 50-point headstart on Barcelona; that they are currently only 30 points behind this weekend's opponents suggests Juan Ignacio Martinez should be a frontrunner in the coach of the year competition.
The Frogs have not beaten Barcelona in a top-flight game for more than half a century, but they did hold the Catalan giants to a 1-1 draw at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium last season.
Can they derail a Barca team whose coach says they have already crashed and burned out of this season's title race? Probably not.
Pep Guardiola's men are in cruise control at the moment, getting ahead before half-time and staying there until full-time in each of their last ten league games. [1.66] is a generous price for them to make it 11 in a row on Saturday night.
We've mentioned Ronaldo up above, and it's traditional to then mention Messi too. So, Barca's star man has scored 39 league goals of his own this season, finding the back of the net in each of his last nine Liga appearances. Not even he knows where this particular run will end, but you can be sure he'll be odds-on to make it ten in a row this weekend.
If, for some reason, you fancy an upset, then Arouna Kone is your man. On loan from Sevilla, the Ivorian forward has netted in each of his last three outings for Levante.
Recommended Bet: Back Barcelona/Barcelona @ [1.66]
*Follow Tobias on Twitter: @tobiasgourlay
Atletico Madrid's sorry record in the Madrid derby should ensure that Real Madrid maintain their precious four-point lead at the top......
There's plenty to like about this current Real Madrid team, including the sheer number of goals they score over a season. But after a draw against Valencia on Sunday and with a tough tie with Bayern Munich coming up, their...
Despite their busy schedules Tobias Gourlay expects it to be a good Saturday for Barcelona and a good Sunday for Real Madrid...
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Winner Stays On: What if Mourinho is right?
Winner Stays On / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 29 April 2011 / Leave a Comment Jose Mourinho can't believe what's going on at the moment
"Real players are sent off when they shouldn't have been, Barca's get away with murder, penalties aren't awarded to his team but they're awarded against his sides. It's all engineered to stop him on his tracks and prevent him from winning yet another Champions League title."
Conspiracy theories are the name of Mourinho's game. But what does Winner Stays On make of it all?
So Jose Mourinho has complained that it's all a conspiracy.
Everyone wants Barcelona to win and for whichever club he's in charge of to lose. Barca are in on it and UEFA are pulling the strings to ensure that every decision goes against them. Real players are sent off when they shouldn't have been, Barca's get away with murder, penalties aren't awarded to his team but they're awarded against his sides. It's all engineered to stop him on his tracks and prevent him from winning yet another Champions League title.
We're fair people here at Winner Stays On and for what it's worth that sending off of Pepe did look a little harsh in the context of the match given the referee had been pretty lenient up to that point with the way he'd gone about officiating the match. But if it is all a conspiracy as he suggests and they really are all out to get him we were just wondering: given how he's conducted himself over the past eight years or so - could you blame anyone if it was all true?
Searching for glory in a fair and equitable way this week are this week's two contestants.
EddieHoweDo?'s selections
Toulouse v Lyon - Back Lyon HT/FT at 3.5
Setabal v Porto - Back Over 2.5 goals at 1.76
Bayern Munich v Schalke - Back Bayern Munich to win at 1.36
Johnyrambo's selections
Toulouse v Lyon - Back Toulouse to win at 4.1
Setubal v Porto - Back the Draw at 4.0
Bayern Munich v Schalke - Back Under 2.5 goals at 2.58
We have two new contestants this week battling it out to stay on. Find out why......
It wasn't always the case that footballers were millionaires. Had they been born in another era this might have happened......
We give you the Top 5 ways not to spend £100 should you win that by playing Winner Stays On....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)