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Madrid members lambast Mourinho

Comment: 0 September 26th, 2011 by: admin

WHEN talks swirl around Jose Mourinho, they could either stir debates or prompt lively discussions.

And that’s exactly what transpired during Real Madrid’s general assembly meeting last Sunday when Mourinho became the subject of conversation.

Club member Rafael Vareos criticised the controversial Portuguese coach whose followers replied with catcalls and whistles.

“If you have a tiger as your mascot you have to keep him tied up to stop him eating your neighbour’s daughter,’’ said Vareos as hisses of disagreement from the largely pro-Mourinho crowd followed his remarks.

Vareos branded as dubious the “absolute power’’ given to Mourinho and said the picture of him jabbing his finger into the eye of a rival team’s assistant coach that was seen all over the world gave Madrid a bad image.

“Mourinho is not a Madridista, he is a Mourinhista,’’ said Vareos.

Juan Miguel Nogues, another club member, said Mourinho is not the image of the Madrid family “It’s not the one Madrid should be projecting.’’

Mourinho, who became coach at Madrid at the end of the  2009-10 season after coming in from Inter Milan, has clashed with officials and rival coaches several times and has caused uproar around the club with his remarks that there is a conspiracy favouring their fiercest rivals Barcelona.

He attracted more criticisms during last month’s Spanish Super Copa game against Barca when he poked a finger into the eye of the Catalan club’s assistant boss Tito Villanova at the height of a mass brawl at the end of the fixture. He faces a disciplinary proceeding for that act.

With the backing of club president Florentino Perez, Mourinho has grown wielding more power at the club after director-general Jorge Valdano was fired in May.

Perez, a construction magnate, has spent hundreds of millions of euros on players and coaching staff as they aim for a 10^th European crown.

As expected, Perez was all praises for the Portuguese coach during the assembly. He said the club has the “best coach in the world,’’ but admitted the eye-poking incident was not good.

“We have the best coach. There are people influenced by the media but they should not let themselves be fooled,’’ he said.

The Los Blancos are one of the four top-tier clubs owned by their members. The others are Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna.

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