Now Reading: Mourinho had nightmares trying to stop Messi in El Clasico
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Mourinho had nightmares trying to stop Messi in El Clasico
Jose Mourinho admitted that preparing to face Lionel Messi in El Clasico gave him 'nightmares,' according to comments from his documentary. The former Real Madrid manager said he realised he could not…
The Story in Brief
Jose Mourinho admitted that preparing to face Lionel Messi in El Clasico gave him 'nightmares,' according to comments from his documentary. The former Real Madrid manager said he realised he could not beat Pep Guardiola's Barcelona by matching their style and had to adopt a different approach. Sami Khedira revealed that pre-match meetings would spend just two minutes on Barcelona's tactics and 40 minutes on how to stop Messi, sometimes requiring Pepe or Sergio Ramos to play in holding midfield roles.
Messi scored 26 goals in 45 official appearances against Real Madrid, the highest tally by any player against the club. His iconic solo goal in the Champions League and his shirtless celebration after a late winner at the Bernabeu remain defining images of his rivalry with the Spanish giants.
The Indian Opinion
This story feeds a worn-out 'Messi vs Real Madrid' hagiography that treats a team game as a one-man show. It ignores that Barcelona lost more El Clasicos than they won in Mourinho's era and that Mourinho's Real Madrid broke La Liga's points record. The real test is whether any forward can ever surpass Messi's 26 goals against the club, not the bedtime tales of a manager's anxiety.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
