A step too far

 

 

 

A step too far

It's nice to see Jose Mourinho has made so many friends since he has been at Chelsea! But, much as I like Jose and dislike Cristiano Ronaldo, this time he has gone too far. Criticise Ronaldo's diving by all means, have a go at him for wasting possession far too often by taking on one man too many, but insulting his family and upbringing is just too personal. Just ask Zinedine Zidane!

I would have thought the fact that Ronaldo has made something of himself despite a tough upbringing is to be applauded. It is the ones that do not have Mourinho's privileged upbringing that give kids at home hope. Most children these days face a lifetime of debt to pay for their education or they can look forward to spending their life doing dead-end jobs for minimum wage. Cristiano Ronaldo can give them hope of more from their future.

For that to be ridiculed by someone who was lucky enough to be born into a privileged lifestyle leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Cristiano Ronaldo may play act, he may fall over far too easily in the hope of winning free kicks and penalties, but at least he worked hard for what he has. I just hope Ronaldo has the sense to just ignore Mourinho's comments, letting his manager deal with Jose while he does his talking on the pitch.

The man who seems best equipped to deal with Jose Mourinho is Rafael Benitez. For some reason Rafa definitely seems to get under his skin, I have no clue why as Liverpool have yet to really challenge Chelsea in the league. Maybe it's because Benitez, unlike Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, tries to keep out of the mind games. Jose believes (and quite possibly rightly believes) himself to be the master of the mind games, so perhaps he feels threatened by Rafa's refusal to get involved.

I would not put it past Mourinho to actually be using the public dislike in lieu of mind games, he might feel the players will try harder for him. The closeness he has with his players can be used to an extra 5% out of the players wanting to win even more to beat someone Jose dislikes. I could be giving Mourinho too much credit, he may just be petty and still sore after seeing his Chelsea team eliminated in the 2005 Champions League semi finals, by a Liverpool team that went on to lift the trophy.

Jose does like to harp on about the fact the ball never crossed the line and so the goal should never have been given. But he conveniently forgets that the alternative would have seen his keeper sent off and Chelsea facing a Liverpool penalty. But then you can not build up a 'whole world is against us' mentality by being unbiased. You have to emphasise every decision given against you, while ignoring the ones that go your way. It also helps to play up every decision, or non-decision, given to the advantage of your main rivals.

Article written by Tris Burke

 

 

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