UNDONE ONCE AGAIN by the brilliance of Lionel Messi, Real Madrid fell to a 5-4 aggregate loss in the Spanish Supercup last night, but not before a violent tackle from Real’s Brazilian left-back Marcelo prompted a massive bench-clearing confrontation.
Another grubby episode in a year-long saga that’s seen the Spanish Clásico deteriorate from a showcase of attacking football to a reliably mean-spirited and disjointed parade of professional fouls and bickering, this most recent encounter proved the summer had done little to ease tensions between Spain’s dominant teams.
It also granted a rare opportunity to see José Mourinho become physically involved in an on-field fracas. The camera lingered on the Real manager as he strode over to Barcelona’s assistant coach Tito Vilanova and, incredibly, stuck his finger in his eye.
To critics of the Portuguese, the breathtaking pettiness of the act, aswell as Mourinho’s smirking retreat, carried a weight of symbolic significance. For the first time, it seemed, he had given physical shape to the footballing ideology that motivates his teams.
But does the burden of responsibility really lie with Madrid? If so:
Do you agree with Barcelona’s Gerard Pique that Mourinho is “destroying Spanish football”?
