People are going to argue about Pepe being sent off, the yellow cards to Ramos and Arbeloa, and the perceived lack of favor that the arbiters had for anyone dressed in white over
blaugrana, but it´s quite clear what happened in the Champions League semifinal: José Mourinho outfoxed himself.
It was obvious what Barcelona were going to do. Even faced with two roughly played matches, a draw in the league that virtually secured another title for Guardiola´s men and a hotly contested match in the Copa del Rey final that gave Mou another bauble for his trophy case, that many were questioning Barcelona´s lack of a Plan B and congratulating Real Madrid prematurely for finally breaking the
azulgrana hegemony, it was clear that Barca are the sort that step back and redouble their efforts- changing nothing; well, unless you count bringing in Seydou Keita in for an injured Andrés Iniesta an unforced change.
José on the other hand had been varying his approaches for awhile. Moving Pepe into a holding role was considered a stroke of brilliance, limiting the interplay of Villa and Messi in the middle of the field and virtually eliminating Pedro from the field of play, but the less obvious change was in intent. Each in this series of
clasicos has been an interesting exhibit into José as coach, as tactician, varying his philosophy from match to match and not only attacking Barcelona on the pitch, but testing himself and his squad to the specific requirements of league match, cup final and two-legged Champions League matches. Each has its own needs, its own conditions for success.
In the press conference afterwards, while most people were paying attention to the flamboyant rant against referees, UEFA, Unicef or any other functionaries that handcuffed his desire for a third personal Champions League trophy, Mourinho revealed what his intent had been. Sit back, absorb the pressure, try certainly to nick a goal in the process, but wait until late before bringing in a third forward and also Kaká to sit behind them. His plan was foiled, the match or reality unwilling to be bent to the will of his imagination.
Now this is no direct criticism to his style of management, his record speaks for itself, but I have to wonder if he realizes how difficult it is to micromanage every event, every pro and con in such a highly charged European match. I can imagine how I would react if my carefully laid plans backfired on me. If my best player ignored my orders to sit back and wait and instead pressured up the pitch away from supply lines I would be angry, too. If my club had responded well to my desire to push the opponent and cajole them into mistakes in the final third, I would be happy, but I can´t complain then if the overly physical play backfires and the opponent takes advantage of the harsh challenges, extending the theatrics a bit more than usual, to get my players sent off. Whether purists on either side of the football debate like it or not, it´s an integral part of the game.
So the high tackle, a studs-up lunge by Pepe to meet a loose ball that Dani Alves was recovering, changes the game. As an image, from any angle on a page, whether from the front as seen on As.com or from behind as a counter-point elsewhere, the tackle seems innocuous, without context though it is left to interpretation: ¨In England that´s not a straight red, but maybe in Spain or in Italy it is¨ or ¨was there malice involved?¨, or any of the arguments that are usually brought to the table after this sort of singular event.
Take that though as a series of images, slowed down for clarity: Pepe leaving his feet to recover the ball from Pedro, the ball skipping away after bouncing off his hip, then running 10 yards to recover a ball, lunging with his right leg in the air, clearly to trap the ball over a waiting Dani Alves, whether or not he had good intentions has no place in the ultimate decision. The referee sees a studs-up high tackle with one player sprawled on the floor, granted a player like Dani Alves who quite often makes a meal of these sorts of challenges, and it is absolutely a red; justified or not.
Left without Pepe in the middle to clog the darting midfield runs, Messi dominates the next 15 minutes culminating in his decisive goal where he sprints past five Real Madrid defenders leaving pundits to again regurgitate Maradona comparisons. Game over, set and match, with one more
clásico to be played in a week.
A 0-0 result is a good result. Mourinho has said it in the past. The important match is and will continue to be the match at the Camp Nou. It is still possible conceivably, but with the away goals set Real Madrid will have to score three in Barcelona and hold the hosts scoreless. Not impossible, but highly improbable. I just wonder, if rather than being so cautious and trying to ensure his result, Mourinho had taken his own advice and attacked Barcelona like his Inter squad had done last year at the Giuseppe Meazza. Would the result have been any different?
I have to digress here. I dislike these type-A pencil-pushers; these extreme micro-managers that have infiltrated the game. It´s a personal opinion. I would rather see a genius like Roberto Baggio create something out of nothing before watching Marcello Lippi try to convert him into a player in a system that ensures nothing but the idea that Lippi will for all time be lauded as a World Cup winning coach rather than the idea his players won it despite him. I know I´m in the minority. I don´t daydream myself sitting on the bench in a suit at the Santiago Bernabeu with my pen and my moleskin journal, but if I have over a 100 million euros of talent sitting on the substitutes bench next to me, I play them. If a tactic is sound for the 75th minute then it is sound for the 15th minute. I put my best players in the position for them to win. You can over-think your approach.
In this case, if I
had been sitting on that bench in Madrid, rather than look for vague conspiracies placing themselves in the way of my dreams of personal European glory, I´d take a good look in the mirror before I face the press. Self confidence is all well and good, but without even the slight-bit of self-reflection it all comes across as phony.
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