Thanks For This Day

I think it's just awesome.

billy_gr wrote:hate them or not, having athread to express our hate verytime they lose is just petty. I'd close this down

nah its not that bad. after all the rivalries are like this. you enjoy your rivals failure. and if i think about how RM were last year, i like having these threads. I mean half of them had something about 10 points on their avatar or sig, and they did not shy in expressing their delight about our dreadful league losses. So, just keep it civil, no coursing and it is fine by me. I am not afraid to admit i enjoy seeing RM crumble

I would like to share my views on Iker Casillas. Before I start let me make it clear that these are just my views and it's very much possible that not one other Barca fan agrees with them.

Before Mourinho came in I had no problems with Casillas. I always respected him. I did turn against him when he became a mouthpiece of Mourinho. Some of the things he said then were very lamentable. However what happened since then is something I can't ignore. Seeing the frequent Barca-Madrid scuffles it was Iker who before anyone else took the initiative to stop them. He called out to Xavi and Puyol both privately and publicly to help end all this. Our captains replied that words would not be enough and they wanted to see some action instead. Note how since then there hasn't been a single scuffle between the teams in spite of the constant presence of Mourinho.

I have never bought the theory that Mourinho has treated Casillas the way he has because his form had fallen. His closeness with Barca players especially Xavi probably had more to do with it. There was that incident when after a match Casillas spent a long time chatting with some of our players which so irked Mourinho that he even spoke out publicly against it. So for taking the initiative to end all those scuffles successfully, I have forgiven Casillas for his bad behaviour of the past. At a very personal level it really pleased me when he attended Iniesta's wedding.

As for what I think of him as a player I agree that he has not been in the best of form in the last few years but in just my view among goalkeepers there isn't a greater big match performer - even more than Gianluigi Buffon. In big matches Iker is like a miracle worker who saves those shots that just can't be saved and rescues the team from seemingly impossible situations. Xavi says some pretty similar things about him. He is one of the three key pillars of the success of the Spanish national team along with Xavi and Iniesta and since I have been a fan of that team for several years now, he does mean something to me.

However that does not mean that I don't like celebrating Madrid's defeats. I do and wholeheartedly so especially the key major defeats. This feeling was multiplied several times when first Cristiano Ronaldo joined and then Jose Mourinho took over. Watching Mourinho fight with his own players right through the year contributing to their downfall has been nothing short of pure bliss.

BTW that's a great cartoon posted by eelir.

messixaviesta wrote:I would like to share my views on Iker Casillas. Before I start let me make it clear that these are just my views and it's very much possible that not one other Barca fan agrees with them.

Before Mourinho came in I had no problems with Casillas. I always respected him. I did turn against him when he became a mouthpiece of Mourinho. Some of the things he said then were very lamentable. However what happened since then is something I can't ignore. Seeing the frequent Barca-Madrid scuffles it was Iker who before anyone else took the initiative to stop them. He called out to Xavi and Puyol both privately and publicly to help end all this. Our captains replied that words would not be enough and they wanted to see some action instead. Note how since then there hasn't been a single scuffle between the teams in spite of the constant presence of Mourinho.

I have never bought the theory that Mourinho has treated Casillas the way he has because his form had fallen. His closeness with Barca players especially Xavi probably had more to do with it. There was that incident when after a match Casillas spent a long time chatting with some of our players which so irked Mourinho that he even spoke out publicly against it. So for taking the initiative to end all those scuffles successfully, I have forgiven Casillas for his bad behaviour of the past. At a very personal level it really pleased me when he attended Iniesta's wedding.

As for what I think of him as a player I agree that he has not been in the best of form in the last few years but in just my view among goalkeepers there isn't a greater big match performer - even more than Gianluigi Buffon. In big matches Iker is like a miracle worker who saves those shots that just can't be saved and rescues the team from seemingly impossible situations. Xavi says some pretty similar things about him. He is one of the three key pillars of the success of the Spanish national team along with Xavi and Iniesta and since I have been a fan of that team for several years now, he does mean something to me.

However that does not mean that I don't like celebrating Madrid's defeats. I do and wholeheartedly so especially the key major defeats. This feeling was multiplied several times when first Cristiano Ronaldo joined and then Jose Mourinho took over. Watching Mourinho fight with his own players right through the year contributing to their downfall has been nothing short of pure bliss.

I feel the same as you. When he said that Fabregas dived after the Marcelo tackle or told the referee to go and party with Barça and hated him right there, but then according to some journalist, Casillas "saw" what he had turned into and didn't like it so he called Xavi to apologize and create peace once and for all. And because of that Casillas relationship with Mou turned for the worse.

I gained back some of the respect I had for him after that..

messixaviesta wrote:I would like to share my views on Iker Casillas. Before I start let me make it clear that these are just my views and it's very much possible that not one other Barca fan agrees with them.

Before Mourinho came in I had no problems with Casillas. I always respected him. I did turn against him when he became a mouthpiece of Mourinho. Some of the things he said then were very lamentable. However what happened since then is something I can't ignore. Seeing the frequent Barca-Madrid scuffles it was Iker who before anyone else took the initiative to stop them. He called out to Xavi and Puyol both privately and publicly to help end all this. Our captains replied that words would not be enough and they wanted to see some action instead. Note how since then there hasn't been a single scuffle between the teams in spite of the constant presence of Mourinho.

I have never bought the theory that Mourinho has treated Casillas the way he has because his form had fallen. His closeness with Barca players especially Xavi probably had more to do with it. There was that incident when after a match Casillas spent a long time chatting with some of our players which so irked Mourinho that he even spoke out publicly against it. So for taking the initiative to end all those scuffles successfully, I have forgiven Casillas for his bad behaviour of the past. At a very personal level it really pleased me when he attended Iniesta's wedding.

As for what I think of him as a player I agree that he has not been in the best of form in the last few years but in just my view among goalkeepers there isn't a greater big match performer - even more than Gianluigi Buffon. In big matches Iker is like a miracle worker who saves those shots that just can't be saved and rescues the team from seemingly impossible situations. Xavi says some pretty similar things about him. He is one of the three key pillars of the success of the Spanish national team along with Xavi and Iniesta and since I have been a fan of that team for several years now, he does mean something to me.

However that does not mean that I don't like celebrating Madrid's defeats. I do and wholeheartedly so especially the key major defeats. This feeling was multiplied several times when first Cristiano Ronaldo joined and then Jose Mourinho took over. Watching Mourinho fight with his own players right through the year contributing to their downfall has been nothing short of pure bliss.

This is how I view it as-well good post, I have a soft spot for the Spanish players of Madrid who celebrated with our players in the World Cup, Ramos has changed his ways as-well and talks good of Barcelona and it's players, the ones causing the most problems is Mourinho and Iker saw that.

Finally it is official.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2013/05/20/3993043/jose-mourinho-to-leave-real-madrid?ICID=OP

BTW the title of my signature is 'Jose Mourinho - Not So Special In Spain'.

Ramon Calderon had this to say of Jose Mourinho yesterday :-


"Of course Mourinho has been a failure. It is the worst record of any Real Madrid manager who has had three years or more there."

"What I really don't like is the way he has behaved. When we lose, we shake hands - we don't poke fingers in eyes."

"Mourinho didn't deal well with Casillas. He's an icon, but was dropped because he spoke to Xavi and said we must not fight."

"Its also down to the people who brought him to Real Madrid. Mourinho was like that before he arrived at Real Madrid."