Flat backing for Jose - 7M sport

Flat backing for Jose



I have a say

Posted Wednesday, March 09, 2011 by skysports.com

Flat backing for Jose

'Lack of support may be key in convincing Mourinho to move on'

Jose Mourinho would jump at the chance to leave Real Madrid right now, according to Guillem Balague.

The 'Special One's side trail Barcelona by seven points after being humiliated in the season's first El Clasico and last week it was reported that a fan had tried to attack him in La Coruna.

To make matters worse, Mourinho is vilified by match crowds around Spain and Balague told Revista that the former Chelsea boss may have decided that enough is enough.

"We have to clarify a series of things - he was not attacked by a fan," he reflected. "That is what was reported by Spanish radio and that is what I was told and what I myself reported to Sky News and Sky Sports News.

"Let's say there are two versions. That's one. The second comes from the club and the club says that actually it was while he was giving autographs to people, somebody's notebook with a sharp edge tore a little bit of the shirt of the bodyguard and that was it.

Pressure

"In any case, not everybody dislikes him. Not all of the fans of Real Madrid are with him but a big percentage of them are. The rest of Spain is not. Florentino Perez doesn't like that. He doesn't like it that at every press conference there is a 'bomb' that is about to explode.

"Both the club and the players have been trying to follow his strategy. He asked the players after the 0-0 draw with Deportivo to come out and complain about the schedule, the timetables, about the fact that Real Madrid are not resting as much as other teams - a statistic which is not true, actually - but he wants that to be out there as a part of that strategy of us against the world. The players did not follow that.

"It's not just that. You see sometimes Chendo, who is a former Real Madrid player, telling him to go to the fourth referee and put him under pressure. Apparently, what he does sometimes is go to the fourth referee and says 'what's the time, is there a good restaurant to go for a meal after' because Chendo has told Mourninho 'this is not how we do things at Real Madrid'.

"Conclusion: Florentino Perez, Jorge Valdano - that's the way things are done at Real Madrid and they are not backing Mourinho. So Mourinho feels he is not being backed by the club so what is the point in continuing?

"If the club doesn't go with the way that he wants to do things - a way that other clubs have guaranteed trophies - why stay? If he had to take the decision today I tell you, he would not stay at Real Madrid next season."

Power

Mourinho has divided opinion since he first stepped into management at Benfica in 2000, according to Balague, so no-one should be surprised to find him in the thick of another power struggle - not least Real Madrid.

"He is aware of the image he projects and the reaction," said Balague. "I don't think he has changed at all from day one, from the time at Portugal - he is the same guy.

"The influential people at any club feel that when he arrives they've got to leave space for him to do his thing, to give him influence and to give him power; that, at Real Madrid, has not worked really well. He got the power but there are lots of unhappy people about it.

"Secondly, that is part of his methods. So either you accept it and say 'we are just going to follow you, you are our leader, our messiah' or you don't - and Real Madrid haven't."

Returning

Brazilian Kaka did not feature in Real's 3-1 away win over Racing Santander and the playmaker is now expected to be out for at least 15 days after aggravating the knee problem that troubled him last year.

But with Ozil playing so well in his absence, Balague feels Kaka's days at the club could be numbered.

"It is 15 days that the doctors are saying now, but 15 days can become 30 days or whatever. It's down to his mental attitude, basically. Mourinho is not waiting for him," he said.

"He hasn't got any rush to bring him back into the side because he feels betrayed by him - we explained that before; in the pre-season he should have operated a month-and-a-half earlier than he did. Now it is like 'let the doctors deal with it; I'm not interested in Kaka returning.'"



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