Pep, Jose agree on 'code of silence'

Posted Thursday, November 17, 2011 by Supersport.com

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are in many ways about as different as day and night, but they agree at least on one thing: Real Madrid and Barcelona are shrouded in a code of silence.

In an era of hypercommunication, the two giants of Spanish football are going ever further in their "bunkerization" process.

First they banned fans and reporters from training, then they denied the media the chance to talk to players after training, and now they have expressly banned footballers from giving interviews to the media.

Coaches are directly responsible for these decisions: first it was Guardiola at Barcelona, then Mourinho at Real Madrid.

"It is an open-ended decision, probably to last until the end of the season. And perhaps for next season," sources at Real Madrid's press department told dpa.

Mourinho and Guardiola reach practically all levels within their clubs, but they can hardly go beyond them: there is always a limit.

In this context, it is a paradox that Iker Casillas cannot talk to reporters who regularly cover Real Madrid but can indeed discuss his team when he is on national team duty with Spain.

That is what happened this week, when the Real Madrid goalkeeper and captain had no problem giving one-to-one interviews to the media, in which he discussed Mourinho, Real Madrid and, yes, also the national team.

These days it is easier to get comments from footballers through their sponsors than through their clubs. A certain razor manufacturer is now arguably the best mediator between some players, including Casillas and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, and their fans.

The same thing happens with the videogame firm that sponsors Barcelona striker Lionel Messi or the sports clothing firm that has Barca's Cesc Fabregas as an icon.

But the best example of sponsor power is Guardiola himself. When he took over as Barca coach he said he would not give individual interviews.

This decision was in line with the habits of former Argentina and Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa, whom the Barcelona coach greatly admires. Guardiola has not changed his mind in the three years he has been on the job.

However, Banco Sabadell achieved what no one had before: to broadcast online and elsewhere an interview with Guardiola by journalist and film-maker David Trueba, a personal friend of the coach's.

Like Bielsa, Guardiola does however engage in extra long press conferences in which he shirks no issues. In that respect he remains different from Mourinho, who picks and chooses press conferences and often sends his assistant, Aitor Karanka, to face reporters before matches.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell greatly dislikes public speaking and is not good at it. And yet this week he could not refuse Al Jazeera a one-hour interview: Barca have a lucrative contract with Qatar Foundation, which in turn has close ties to Al Jazeera.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are making the most of their selective silence to expand their own media, by broadcasting interviews in club websites and TV channels. It is not surprising, however, that these fail to make major headlines.

In any case, the times when reporters took rides in players' cars and when stars spent an hour signing autographs for hundreds of fans after training are long gone.