It is almost inconceivable that a Champions League season could pass without large helpings of controversy. In the 2008/09 edition, the event was at Stamford Bridge between Barcelona and Chelsea. And last night it was in England again as Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir made sure he grabbed headlines on a night where two of Europe’s top clubs battled for qualification to the competition’s quarter-finals.
With the score 1-1 after 90 minutes of football at the Santiago Bernabeu, Manchester United were to welcome a side that managed to defeat Barcelona twice in the space of a few days. All the talk was of how Los Blancos would now show their true colours at the Theatre of Dreams and go on to win La Decima, a tenth European Cup.
However, it was the home side that managed to break the deadlock, as Sergio Ramos inadvertently slotted the ball into his own net. Suddenly, it appeared as if Manchester United were in control and the onus on the visitors grew bigger. Any hopes of a tenth European crown were going down the drain. The Spanish press would be calling for Jose Mourinho’s head the next day.
That is, until the referee decided to controversially send off Nani after the Portuguese winger extended a leg that found its way into Alvaro Arbeloa’s rib-cage. The Red Devils expressed their disapproval for a decision they found to be too harsh. Sir Alex Ferguson spewed with anger in front of 75 thousand-plus fans who heckled the referee with boos and jeers.
Knowing how destabilised Ferguson’s men were, in stepped Mourinho, who removed Arbeloa and introduced Luka Modric to add more power to the midfield. The Croatian was lively against his old Premier League foes and eventually opened the scoring with a long range shot. Only another three minutes passed before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the goal which put the Spaniards ahead, opting to mute his celebrations in front of his old adoring fans, who felt strong injustice on the night.
Not long after, Pepe came on for Mesut Ozil as the visitors reverted back to a more conservative formation. But it hardly mattered. Their adversaries needed two goals to progress and were a man down. Mourinho had won the war against a man he considers a friend, worthy adversary and mentor from his old Chelsea days, but the Real Madrid manager was not fully happy himself.
“Independent of the decision, the best team lost. We didn’t deserve to win but football is like this”, declared the former Porto coach after the tie. “I doubt that 11 versus 11 we win the match.”
And Mourinho was right. Despite being highly motivated after the Clasicos last week, Real Madrid could not find the answers against Manchester United until the dismissal of Nani. Barcelona are a team in crisis, Manchester United are not. Is that an indication that the Spanish giants cannot hold their own against healthy European foes when the numbers are even?
If Real Madrid are to progress and finally lift the much-coveted trophy at Wembley, then they must forget about last night. They certainly had no part in the referee’s decision and did what any team would normally have done.
What happened in Manchester needs to be in the past. What is for sure is that the progression will inject Los Blancos with another boost of confidence. Real Madrid have played two big sides in the past eight days and have won against them all – two of those victories coming on away soil.
Their focus needs to be shifted to the quarter-finals now, which start at the beginning of April. With the league lost, Real Madrid’s manager needs to stir his team’s efforts onto five games that could carve the way to a successful season for Los Blancos.
And Mourinho knows how difficult it is to win Europe’s most coveted club competition, as his side will have to tackle some of the best teams around, like German giants Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund. German clubs have particularly caused the Spaniards all sorts of worries during the last two editions of the Champions League and Mourinho was quick to point out after the game just what a wonderful side Borussia Dortmund were when the two met in the group stages. “Nobody speaks about Dortmund, I played them in the group phase, they are fantastic”, he said.
With Manchester United out and Barcelona needing a big result to overcome their 2-0 first leg deficit against AC Milan, the nine-team competition winners can breathe a sigh of relief. Yet there is more work to be done as Lady Luck may not smile that often. With the right preparation and correct frame of mind, the self-proclaimed “Special One” has showed over the last week that his side can match any team, even away. And this is the particular kind of motivation the he will need to pump his team with.
As his long-term future continues to hang in the balance, many see Mourinho as good as gone by the end of June; such is the severity of the situation and the high amount of bad blood that resides behinds the curtain between him and some members of the squad, mainly the Spaniards. However, leaving with a winners medal around his neck and a third Champions League accolade with yet another different team will cement his place as the best manager in history. Manchester United are in the past. The hard work starts now.
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