... and at the end there was no "remuntada".All the angry talking of Barcelona players (Pique, poor boy, must be feeling a bit down today, I guess), and all the big fuss about Barcelona being the greatest team in the world and Messi being the new Maradona (not yet, Leo, not yet), and all the water sprinkled on the Nou Camp before the match to make the game easier for the Barcelona stars, and all the 100,000 or so Barcelona supporters being the 12th man on the pitch and... well, it counted nothing, because at the end of the night it was Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan celebrating, walking away from the Nou Camp with the qualification to the Champions League final.
It was a victory for Inter, reaching the final of the Champions League after 38 years, but also for Mourinho, who was nicknamed the "translator" back in his Barcelona days, when he was an assistant to the late Bobby Robson, manager of Barcelona in the '96-'97 season. Barcelona never considered Mourinho a possible future manager for the club, but tonight Mourinho showed them how wrong they were and revenge is always good.
Mourinho tactics, unlike Guardiola, were spot on. Inter played a defensive match but that is what they had to do, considering that it was Barcelona that was beaten in Milan and had to perform a "remuntada" and considering also that Inter played with 10 men for three-quarters of the game. Inter showed Barcelona and the world the meaning of defending, and how Messi can be neutralised. All Inter players were amazing, Samuel, Zanetti, Maicon, Lucio, Cambiasso and so on, a wall that frustrated Barcelona until the end, especially Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the striker who left Inter in the summer because he wanted to win the Champions League and instead he showed the world that Inter is instead a better team without him.
Barcelona cannot complain with the referee either, Motta sending off was a Godsend, Barcelona’s first goal was very likely on off-side, and a handball is a handball, and therefore the second goal was rightly disallowed.
As the final whistle blew, Jose Mourinho celebrated his joy in style, by rushing towards the Inter fans, raising his arms and pointing his fingers to the sky, while Barcelona-keeper-sore-loser-Vitor-Valdes clumsily and pathetically tried to stop him, obviously not liking the fact to be out of the Champions League and probably still thinking about a "remuntada" that never took place.
4 comments:
Being a fan of Mourinho, I was delighted with Inter's win. No matter the tactics used by Barcelona before, during and after, they were no match to the great man, and the great team.
Perhaps Guardiola should do a bit of translating himself, to at least, reach Mourinho's ankles.
A classy team, were at the end classless, as a result of the way they played, lacklustre, and as a result of their sportsmanship, turning on the waterworks......literally.
Bad losers Barca, bad losers, you have a lot to learn from the translator. If I were Mourinho, I would have said,'Hey, translate this, and made a certain finger gesture.
Armando Pereira
Having endured the woeful Barcelona antics against Arsenal, my family were keen for an Inter win. As defenders, we appreciate the ugly side of the game more than many, but I felt Lucio and particularly Cambiasso were absolutely outstanding last night. However, I do hope we get to see a return to the Inter performance from the first leg in the final.
How will a stadium full of Madrid fans at the final react to Mourinho now they can call him the Catalan Slayer?
I like Inter its got a team of experienced players who can beat anyone on any day, I think he has brought in the right people, selling Ibrahimovic and buying Eto and Milito who have arrived with the right attitude...Morigno is a Manager who can over celebrate but I would have done the same as he has proved a lot of people wrong....just wonder what Abramovich, and other rich owners from these clubs who do not stick with there manager!!....FELIPE
It was the most boring first 80 minutes i've ever suffered. The only light relief was the occasional theatrics from Barca.
In the last round Barca showed us how the beautiful game can be played. In this game Milan showed us that anti-football will always win out. Park the bloody bus!!
I will always remember where i was the day football died - RIP
(now get Mourinho up before the beak, He deserves a 30 stretch for that!)
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