SOCCER: SID LOWEin Madrid on how the Real Madrid manager looks to be making a point to his Portuguese star ahead of their second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona
JOSE MOURINHO has left Cristiano Ronaldo out of the Real Madrid squad to face Real Zaragoza this evening – and hinted that the decision may be a warning to the Portuguese winger as well as an attempt to protect him for Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg in Barcelona.
The coach also effectively reiterated his accusations against Uefa, saying that “a picture paints a thousand words”, and claimed to bear no responsibility for Madrid’s first-leg 2-0 defeat.
He said the events on Wednesday make him even more determined to continue at Madrid.
After the game Ronaldo said he did not enjoy playing in the defensive manner that Madrid had used.
“I don’t like it but I have to adapt to what is asked of me,” he said.
Mourinho yesterday stated that he had “no problem” with Ronaldo’s comments, saying: “Ronaldo can say whatever he wants; that is his opinion.”
But when he was asked about the absentees in his squad, there was a hint of irritation.
Mourinho has also left Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra and Raul Albiol out of the team to play Zaragoza at the Bernabeu.
If the decision is a logical one, ahead of the semi-final with Barcelona, Ronaldo has resisted being rested previously as he continues to fight for La Liga’s top scorer award and the explanation was intriguing.
In each case, Mourinho offered a reason: Alonso and Diarra are “dead” and need time to “recover for the second leg”; Albiol “does not need to play” because Pepe and Sergio Ramos, who will be absent on Tuesday due to suspensions, can.
Asked about Ronaldo, Mourinho just shrugged and said: “My choice.”
Mourinho claimed not to want to talk about the accusations he made against Uefa, during which he suggested there was a conspiracy to clear Barcelona’s path to the final and dismissed Barcelona’s 2009 success as shrouded in “scandal”. But in doing so, he reiterated his position and insisted that he had no regrets.
“I don’t want to talk for a very simple reason,” he said, referring to television pictures and photographs he felt suggested that Pepe did not make contact with Dani Alves in the tackle that led to the Madrid player’s dismissal and that Barcelona’s players had simulated injuries during the game.
“That is because I do not need to. A picture is worth a thousand words and there are so many pictures that it means there are so many words and I do not have anything to add.
“There are pictures that are real pictures and have not been put through Photoshop, plus videos that have not been manipulated. So I have absolutely nothing else to add. The images speak, I do not.”
He also pounced on a query about his side’s morale to make a further point. In Spanish, morale and moral are the same word, and Mourinho used that to his advantage.
“Moral(e) is the word,” he said.
“We have moral(e) in every sense of the word.
“I did not make an accusation, I asked a question: ‘Why?’ That was my question and, as I said, I might die without getting an answer. These events mean that I have even more desire to continue at Real Madrid, because of what it means. Our shirt is white – and that has meaning. I am in very good shape. My health is perfect and I am working as always.”
Asked what responsibility he had for the sendings-off, Mourinho simply laughed sarcastically and said: “I do not want to answer that.”
And asked what responsibility Madrid as a team and he as coach had in the defeat on Tuesday night, his answer was short and sharp: “Zero.”
Pep Guardiola, the Barcelona manager, refused to be drawn on the comments and has concerns over Andres Iniesta, who may not make the second leg. The midfielder will miss tonight’s La Liga clash at Real Sociedad and the Spanish league leaders said that he was continuing treatment for a strained right calf.
