Advantage Jose Mourinho as the Battle for Spanish Supremacy goes to Europe

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When Jose Mourinho signed for Real Madrid a month after he knocked holders Barcelona out of the Champions League with Inter Milan despite suffering “the most beautiful defeat of his career” and eventually going on to win Europe’s top prize, it seemed a marriage made in heaven. The self-styled best club in the world, Real Madrid were without a trophy for three years and the shadow of hated rivals Barcelona was growing in size. And who better to bring on board to stem the rot than the best manager on the planet, who had unlocked the code to beating the best team in the world?

Will Jose Mourinho win the Battle for European Supremacy yet again against Barcelona?

Appearances can be deceptive. As glamorous as the idea of being Real Madrid manager sounded, things were not so rosy for Mourinho when he began his mission of building a team to beat Barcelona. The Portuguese was refused the kind of protection from the local press that his Catalan counterpart got, the board refused to give in to his wishes, for they thought he was trying to orchestrate a takeover of power and on top of all that, his Real Madrid team were thrashed 5-0 at the Camp Nou in what was Mourinho’s “worst defeat of his career”. Real were ripped apart in the media who began branding Jose’s mission as a failure and his bid to build a team of his mould impossible.

Ever the battling warrior, Jose rose from the ashes and has fought on ever since in building his team and correcting the mistakes that cost Real their reputation at the Camp Nou. He has since then won the war with the authoritarian board, thus winning the authority to have full control of his team and transfers, has got himself the much desired tall classic number nine to play the long-ball game and has made his team embrace his style of play despite scathing criticism from the club’s hierarchy and fans. Crippling losses to Osasuna and Real Sociedad have followed and have cost Los Blancos the chance to challenge for the La Liga title. Come end of the season, Barcelona would remain Kings of Spain by retaining the domestic crown. However, Mourinho was not finished yet and his golden opportunity to prove himself and exact revenge for the Camp Nou humiliation came when Real were drawn to play Barcelona four times in the space of 18 days. These 18 days were billed as the greatest test of Mourinho’s reputation as the man who has cracked the Barcelona code would face it’s ultimate test. With two rounds down in the El Clasico marathon, it’s Jose’s Real Madrid who hold the advantage against the world beaters, against all odds.

By his own admission, Jose Mourinho’s teams do well in the second season compared to the first. However, the leaps and bounds Real have made under their manager in his debut season since the 5-0 El Clasico hammering have been exceptional. A team that just couldn’t defend properly, win a tackle in midfield or put a passing move together to trouble their rivals in November at the Camp Nou as Xavi and co. ran riot, has transformed into an ultra defensive disciplined unit in six months. As was evident from the 1-1 draw and the Copa del Rey final victory when the team defended doggedly and choked Barcelona’s pass masters, what was clear was the Mourinho stamp on the Real Madrid team. By marshalling his troops to be organized and ultra-disciplined, Mourinho has changed Real Madrid into a team of his mould. His tactical master class and exceptional skills as a manager were on display for the world to see at the Mestalla as he pushed Pepe to anchor the midfield alongside warriors Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso to make use of the 28 year old’s seemingly limitless stamina, and made Angel di Maria run tirelessly down the flank like a workhorse. Real’s midfield trio made life difficult for the Catalans by applying relentless pressure and closing them down quickly while the defence stood tall, and ultimately emerged victors in the Spanish Cup final. A sweet victory that eased the pressure off Real, who’ve under-performed in recent years as the decision to bring Mourinho on board was vindicated.

With the spoils shared in the first El Clasico and Real drawing first blood in the Copa del Rey final, Jose Mourinho’s Los Blancos hold the advantage as the four part series goes into top gear in search of an enthralling climax as Spain’s top two battle for European supremacy. Real have shattered the aura of invincibility that has surrounded their Catalan rivals for so long and have turned this four-part marathon into a tightly fought war. Barcelona in Europe, however, is a completely different animal, in fact a wounded animal that will be looking to strike back and win the war. But Mourinho, with the support of the 80,000 odd supporters in white cheering his team in the first leg, is even stronger given that Europe is his home turf. Given the commendable job that his first XI performed at the Mestalla and the big guns that he has in his armoury also known as the second string Real Madrid team, like Kaka, Higuain (sidelined for a large part of the season due to injury) and Benzema who’ve all returned to sparkling form, he will be confident of frustrating Barcelona yet again, go to the Camp Nou with a sizeable lead to park the bus and finish the job in the place where his campaign began with a whimper.

With defensive rock Carles Puyol returning to provide solidarity and leadership at the back, Barcelona will look to go for the kill by passing Madrid out of the park from the word ‘go’. In the words of Javier Mascherano,

“No matter the opponent, Barça always plays the same. The style isn’t up for discussion. If we have to die, we’ll die our way.”

Barcelona will not change their approach, even if it didn’t pay dividends against stubborn Real in the previous two Clasicos. Nor will Mourinho, who will order his team to cut off the oxygen supply to Barcelona’s attackers by harassing Xavi, Iniesta and Messi, stick to his winning formula and let Ronaldo, Di Maria and Ozil fly on the counter at lightning pace. As Spain’s ‘top two’ battle for European supremacy, it’s 1-0 to Mourinho and the ball is now in Barcelona’s court. Your move Pep!