Barca is translated
So Mourinho has done it again. Having studiously followed the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing side, the arch tactician brought out the best in his own players and managed to make Pep Guardiola’s passing game, on the night, look not just ineffectual but tedious.
This was a memorable game, but for the wrong reasons: a couple of poor referee decisions (one of which should have been a Barca penalty),Ibra-yet again-undeserving of his price tag- a dysfunctional defence, and worst of all, a Messi lacking all inspiration. Was I alone in fearing the worst when he walked out for the second half, looking vague and uninterested, as if he’d just been pulled out of bed?
And yes it was Mourinho’s night: calculating that even the greatest can lose it if pressed upon sufficiently, and that players react to leadership, however old or discredited by others- Zanetti, Schneider, Etoo. At San Siro, it was the Inter players that looked more like the gladiators. To blame Barca’s tired performance on a coach ride was a poor excuse for a team that should not allowed themselves to be lost in translation.
Let’s hope for football’s sake, that we get back to the original version at the Camp Nou.
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