Mourinho And The Burden Of Barcelona!

Seldom in his amazing career has the self acclaimed 'Special One' been repeatedly humbled in defeats. Jose Mourinho was handpicked by the powers that be at the Santiago Bernebeau, to mainly curtail the 'irritating' and sublime dominance of their archrivals, Barcelona. But, this holy grail appears to have evaded the mindas touch that we all know that José conjures. One win in ten attempts against the Catalans can only be described as the peak of disasters. Not only has Barca remained the trailblazers, the bragging rights which the Madrid hierarchy desperately covets, has remained in the Camp Nou. These are certainly not happy days for Mourinho, and until he solves this protracted puzzle, he might never become the greatest gaffer of all time. Several explanations have been put up to explain why Madrid under José, never seems to be able to defeat their sworn enemy. Some reasons could outrightly be dismissed as untenable and fictitious, while some are embedded with truism. However,one fact cannot be gainsayed, and which is that Mourinho has always had a personal rivalry with Barcelona. This 'Cold War' streches back to his days at Chelsea. The Pourtugese has undoubtedly admitted that he can simply not defeat Barca at their own game, and during his spells at both Chelsea and Inter Milan, he has resorted to the infamous mantra of 'parking the bus' and 'catching them on the break'. However, at Madrid, the rivarly with Barca is a different kettle of fish. El Classico is simply not about three points only, it is most importantly about the bragging and bullish rights, the tussle for supremacy and the battle for wits. But with Mourinho's arrival at Madrid, the rivalry translated into hatred. Red cards have become an inevitable feature at El Classicos. While it is true that a handful of Barca's players often simulates and 'play acts' against Madrid, Real Madrid players often stoke the fire. Tackles against Barca always carry malacious intents with them. This trend is not only harming Madrid's ambitions, it is also killing the beautiful game of football. When football gets very personal, it loses it's essence. A glance at the Spanish La Liga suggests that Madrid are seven points clear, but even Mourinho knows that with Barcelona, the team behind them, it is not yet uhuru.