Chapter 997 Mourinho's Outburst
Barcelona's Ciutadella de Gamper has a very obvious feature. When it was first designed, the designers designed two parking lots based on the terrain characteristics. All external vehicles were arranged in the external parking lot at the entrance of the sports city, while all internal vehicles went up the slope to the second floor and parked in the internal parking lot.
In other words, the entire Joan Gamper Sports City is on the second floor, and the concrete walls make the confidentiality of the entire sports city very strict. In addition, the surrounding buildings are all one-story buildings, so it is basically difficult for outsiders to spy on what is happening in the training ground from the outside road.
Today is another day for holding a press conference.
Reporters drove to the Gamper Sports City one after another.
As soon as I entered the door, I found that the club's security personnel had already blocked the ramp entrance to the training base, indicating that all external vehicles should park in the external parking lot and then go directly to the press conference through the external passage on the first floor of the training building.
Unless you get permission from Barcelona officials, it will be difficult to enter the training ground.
Previously, reporters had secretly sneaked in through the ramp and training building, affecting the team's preparations. Head coach Mourinho was furious. Since then, every time the Ciutadella de Gamper is open to the public, it has done a lot of work in security.
The Champions League semi-final is imminent, and the number of cars parked in the parking lot shows that there are quite a few reporters present today.
As expected, as soon as I entered the press conference hall, I found that it was already bustling with activity.
Media reporters from all over the world came here to get first-hand information.
The most important thing is the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, where Barcelona will face Manchester City at home.
The other semi-final is between Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
Both of these Premier League teams this season have been very surprising, even shocking.
First of all, it is Manchester City. This is the first time in the history of Manchester City to participate in the Champions League. Team members like head coach Guardiola, Kompany and other players are also participating in the Champions League for the first time. They can be said to be veritable rookies in the Champions League.
But it was this team that first passed the test of the death group in the group stage, and then defeated AC Milan and Real Madrid in the knockout stage, successfully advancing to the semi-finals.
Su Dong has made an indelible contribution, but Manchester City's overall strength is also the guarantee of the team's combat effectiveness.
Chelsea was also a surprise because after the change of coach, the team suddenly performed extremely vigorously in the Champions League, repeatedly defeated strong opponents and reached the semi-finals. It can be said that it surprised everyone.
The Italian head coach Di Matteo, who was called in temporarily to help out, also became famous because of this and there is even a possibility of him being promoted to the regular position.
Survival from desperate situations is often the most fascinating moment in football.
Therefore, both Champions League semi-finals this season have attracted much attention, and Manchester City's visit to Camp Nou is a world-renowned focus, attracting many media reporters.
…
Barcelona's head coach Mourinho was fifteen minutes late when he finally arrived, accompanied by assistant coach Tito Vilanova and Barcelona's press officer.
During the past few years of coaching Barcelona, Mourinho's hair has basically turned completely white, but he is also very stubborn and refuses to dye it, which makes him look a little thin now, but he still has a unique charm.
Media reporters and fans who have been following Barcelona for a long time will find that Mourinho has not smiled for a long time.
The same is true today.
The Portuguese madman walked into the venue with a notebook, waved to everyone as he walked, as a greeting, with a cold face the whole time.
His current situation is indeed not easy.
A long time ago, there have been media rumors that Barcelona is going to change its coach.
The earliest target was Guardiola, but unfortunately, Guardiola later renewed his contract with Manchester City, so the target was shifted to other ones. It caused a lot of hype, as if Mourinho had been sacked.
This made Mourinho very dissatisfied, and he criticized the media's practice many times, but Barcelona officials did not come out to refute the rumors, which made him very passive, and the team's performance did indeed hit the lowest point since he coached Barcelona.
Now many people are speculating, what will Mourinho do in this game against Manchester City? If he loses to Manchester City and then loses to Real Madrid in the national derby, losing two championship trophies in a row, then Mourinho will definitely be fired. Only by surviving desperate situations, defeating Manchester City and Real Madrid, reaching the final of the Champions League, and reversing Real Madrid in La Liga, will he have a chance to stay in Camp Nou.
But this is very difficult for Mourinho.
His opponents come not only on the court, but also in the locker room, from management, from the media and from the fans.
From the first day he coached Barcelona, he was destined to be enemies with a large group of people.
…
It was a routine affair.
According to UEFA regulations, an 18-man roster must be announced before the game.
Barcelona's press officer also strictly followed past procedures and introduced the upcoming game. He also asked Mourinho to announce the 18-man roster, and then entered the media question session.
The main issue still focuses on the match between Barcelona and Manchester City.
Mourinho still emphasized his familiarity with Su Dong and Manchester City as always. He believed that his team could restrain Manchester City and he believed that Barcelona could beat their opponents at home.
But some media just want to discredit him.
For example, a Catalan tabloid asked him: Why are you so confident that you can beat Manchester City? "Before the European Super Cup, you said the same thing, but what happened? Every time you meet Su Dong, you say you know him well, but what happened? Have you ever won once?"
Although Mourinho was mentally prepared for such sharp questions, when they came, the Portuguese madman was still extremely annoyed and angry, because he really felt extremely aggrieved.
But in the end, he could only answer that he and his team would prove themselves with their performance on the court.
But the doubts are still loud.
The Catalan media paid particular attention to one issue, that is, before the game, some media revealed that Mourinho would adopt a conservative tactic, which made Mourinho very angry. He believed that someone inside the locker room had leaked his secrets and even wanted to catch a traitor in the locker room.
Needless to say, the final result was that there was chaos in the locker room, but nothing was caught.
In the Barcelona locker room, Mourinho is a complete outsider.
It is now, it was always, and it always will be!
The media reporters below asked questions very urgently, and each question was more pointed than the last. Mourinho began to feel annoyed.
He remained silent at first, and only spoke again when all the media reporters had gradually quieted down.
"I know that you are always thinking about how to fabricate news. I also know that many of you are making multiple preparations. Whether we win or lose, you have something to say. For you, this is just a few more words on the keyboard."
"But for me and my team, we need to do more, be more detailed and more rigorous."
"I have never believed that any team should follow so-called traditions. In my opinion, winning is tradition, victory is tradition. Not being able to win and not being able to bring victory to the team is bullshit, but some people don't think so, so I am always questioned."
Mourinho's voice echoed in the press conference room. Everyone fell silent, paused silently, and took note silently.
"I always hope to arrange tactics according to the actual situation of the team and win, but some people always think that I should listen to them. Why? On what basis? If they were to coach this team, could they do better than me? Can they guarantee that if I listen to them, the team will win?"
Everyone was silent.
Mourinho's coaching at Barcelona was successful, at least in terms of results.
No matter who is replaced, even if it is Cruyff himself, he may not be able to do better than Mourinho.
So why does he still receive so much blame and criticism? "Because it is always easy to blame and criticize others, just move your lips and type on the keyboard, but if you want to lead a team to win, you can't just rely on your lips and keyboard. This is my value and significance in Barcelona."
Mourinho has been holding these words in his heart for a long time. There are many things he really cannot say because they are related to some internal secrets. Saying them out would be tantamount to breaking a taboo.
But he had had enough.
"Aren't you guys always guessing my tactics? Always guessing my starting lineup? Always trying to get big news from me?"
Mourinho asked back in a somewhat angrily tone, and it was like a bolt from the blue, exploding in the press conference room.
Everyone was stunned, and then showed an incredible look.
Even Barcelona's press officer and assistant coach Vilanova, who were sitting next to Mourinho, couldn't believe it.
"I'm going to tell you right now, my starting lineup for tomorrow night."
There was a loud thunder, and everyone at the scene was stunned.
"No. 1 Valdes, No. 2 Alves, No. 3 Pique, No. 4 Fabregas, No. 5 Puyol, No. 6 Xavi, No. 8 Iniesta, No. 10 Messi, No. 14 Mascherano, No. 15 Seydou Keita, No. 24 Yaya Toure."
Before everyone could react, Mourinho quickly read out his starting lineup in one breath.
Finally, he pointed at all the media reporters present and said, "Remember them. I will use them to beat Manchester City at the Camp Nou, enter the Allianz Arena, and win the championship!"
After saying that, Mourinho turned around and left without any reluctance.
From beginning to end, the whole process happened in a very short time, and the press officer and Vilanova didn't even have the chance to stop it.
By the time everyone reacted, Mourinho had already left.
Everyone left at the scene was dumbfounded, unable to believe what they had just seen and heard.
It is not without precedent for the head coach to announce the starting lineup in advance, but this is definitely the first time that the starting lineup is suddenly announced before such an important game as the Champions League semi-final.
Mourinho is so bold!
What on earth does he want to do?
(End of this chapter)
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