Mou on Cristiano and Pepe

Jose Mourinho has suggested his former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo no longer listens to tactical instructions as he thinks he has nothing left to learn.

The Portuguese pair previous enjoyed a close relationship but it has apparently fractured since Ronaldo reacted angrily to criticism from the bench during a Copa del Rey win over Valencia in January.

After that, Ronaldo refused to speak publicly in support of his boss or tie their fates together.

Spanish lipreaders claimed the player told his manager to "f*** himself" during Madrid's win over Malaga last month, and he did not then start any of the club's remaining three La Liga games.

Mourinho told Spanish TV show Punto Pelota that it was now difficult to coach the former Manchester United man as he reacts badly to any criticism.

"Cristiano Ronaldo maybe thinks that he knows everything and that the coach cannot improve him anymore," Mourinho said. "I had a very basic problem with him: criticise him from a tactical point of view, in that moment he did not accept it very well."

Ronaldo missed Madrid's final game of the season last weekend with Mourinho claiming the attacker - as well as team-mates Iker Casillas and Pepe - had been ruled out due to unspecified back complaints.

Pepe subsequently tweeted a photo of himself surfing just a few days later, Casillas told Spanish reporters that he had been ready to play, while A Bola and AS claimed Ronaldo now has no intention of signing a new contract at the Bernabeu as he was disappointed Madrid president Florentino Perez had not publicly denied the 'fake injury' claims.

The returning Chelsea manager nevertheless stuck to his version of events.

"Those two games in which he did not play, have been almost the only ones because he has given everything for Real Madrid," he said. "He felt a pain in his back. I do not doubt the injuries of the players."

Mourinho also claimed that Ronaldo's phenomenal goalscoring record for Madrid over the last three years had been facilitated by a tactical scheme which had been specifically designed [by Mourinho himself].

"He played three fantastic seasons with me, I do not know if the best of his career," the Special One said. "I think we discovered a fantastic tactical set-up so that he could express all his potential and express it in goals."

On Pepe:

"I don't know whether he betrayed me or not, that's a fine question that you should ask him. He's been with one foot out of Real Madrid and I brought him in many times, I helped to give him a good contract to stay here and he's been out of the team with an injury. A kid that is 10, 11 or 12 years younger has started to play and this kid deserved to play, and I think Pepe has not handled this situation right. And suddenly, all the people that called him a murderer and the worst of things start to protect him. I'm glad for him, he's a fine player for Real Madrid and he deserves the support he's receiving."

Finally, he spoke about Ancelotti. Marca called him a "pacificador" or peacemaker. For Mourinho, that's not a good word to use:

"If one day they call me that while I'm still coaching that would be an insult. Carlo deserves everything but to be insulted before his arrival, and I hope he gets the support he deserves. Ancelotti or whoever comes. The next coach will be able to tell you how he found the club, the files in the computer and everything, because we have not put a virus on them. They stay the same way we left them."

Cristiano not listening is not surprising but I believe his words of Pepe are quite intriguing. Gives the impression that Mourinho felt quite slighted towards Pepe's turncoat ways.

We all know that. and that's why despite scoring so many goals there are Madrid fans who don't like him.

The tactical problem Mourinho had with Ronaldo could have been about tracking back.

It could also have been about Ronaldo not wanting to take part in parking the bus against inferior teams and when we had the lead against other teams. We can only speculate what that tactical problem was.

Whatever the problem, it is the coaches responsibility to effectively communicate with players and create an atmosphere where they are willing to listen. Willingness to learn must also be a reciprocal process, Mourinhio is far from a footballing genius or prophet.

So yea - complex job - understandable that Mourinhio simply didn't make the cut.

Ha the coach is not meant to learn from ronaldo, no it is not a reciprocal process and even if it is it is upto the choosing of the coach...

Trying to bring socialism into football clubs now too, mourinho was the coach! He was the God of that team and ronaldo, casillas or anyone else have or had no right to ever question his actions...that is madness

mourinho admitting he sucked as a man manager in madrid

I bet Mou also runs around telling everyone that his ex-GF gives lousy head.
Just give it a rest, Mou. You left. Shut up about it. Focus on the future.

VivaStPauli wrote:I bet Mou also runs around telling everyone that his ex-GF gives lousy head.
Just give it a rest, Mou. You left. Shut up about it. Focus on the future.

He got kicked out

Mou is all about blaming everyone else but himself about his own failures... he did that the whole time at Madrid. It was either a) the referee, b) players not listening to his instructions or c) some plot by an unknown evil force.

There's a thread on the Madrid section about Ronaldo's failure to track back the sole reason Madrid have failed in the CL.....

Can't stand hypocrites lol.

Gil wrote:There's a thread on the Madrid section about Ronaldo's failure to track back the sole reason Madrid have failed in the CL.....

Can't stand hypocrites lol.

Really? I must have missed that thread. We were discussing in what circumstances CR7 needs to track back and that he needs to do more... but in no way was that the reason we lost in CL for 3 years lol. The big reason? Mou's underdog tactics and his complete disregard for the midfield issues.

He's your problem now anyhow. Hope he sells Mata and buys Sneijder

The semi-special one

Gil wrote:There's a thread on the Madrid section about Ronaldo's failure to track back the sole reason Madrid have failed in the CL.....

Can't stand hypocrites lol.

That is MT, it sounds like MT with a mixture of Adit. The latter wouldn't put the entire failure on that though...

Gil wrote:There's a thread on the Madrid section about Ronaldo's failure to track back the sole reason Madrid have failed in the CL.....

Can't stand hypocrites lol.

No body said CR7 was the reason we failed to win CL.,but no body is immune to criticism and any one who watch Real Madrid will understand that Ronaldo not tracking back is a big problem.

I pointed out some game situation in which our LB got raped due to him getting outnumbered in the wings and that happened to be big games in CL and La liga..surprise surprise.

I wouldn't say Ronaldo not tracking back is the only reason we didn't win the CL. There's a lot of things like not having a solid defense, better possession play etc etc.

Oh and mourinho is disgraceful as i have been calling him for years. he just left the club and he is already pointing fingers at about everyone for why it didnt work for him. playing the charming card of a little coach that was bullied by players and a club that didnt undertand him or medias that hounded him. he created all those situations, really shameful and good thing he is finally gone. i havent heard him pointing out mistakes he made yet, but of course that will never happen

To be fair we dont know what questions were posed to Mourinho in this interview . It seems to me like he was just responding to questions asked about Ronaldo and Pepe . Its not like he was deliberately absolving himself of all the blame in this particular interview
Very few coaches will voluntarily say in public that they made mistakes .Why should they ? Football management is an extremely competitive field and they wouldnt want to give clubs any reason not to hire them or give players any reason not to believe in their methods . And in any case it frankly doesnt matter if he admits that he's made a mistakes . I think criticism for mourinho over this is completely over the top .

Exactly what timzink said above, Jose mourinho was most likely answering questions about Ronaldo and pepe. I said this before, we as an audience absorb what the papers say and make our own perceptions- the magic of media, which is good but we only get to know half-truths. Either way, Mou has an arrogant personality and its with me or against me, but many of you are being over critical and throwing the blame game and none of us have a clue about what really went on.

Ronaldo is a punk. Misses penalties under pressure and disappears in big games.

The part on Pepe

Cristiano Ronaldo not tracking back, and marcelo being an attack minded fullback, always left Real Madrid's left flank COMPLETELY OPEN. If it were ANY OTHER player in Ronaldo's place, Mourinho would have never tolerated it for a single game. Attacking-wise, Cristiano Ronaldo was Madrid's winner, the best player. But defensively, he was Madrid's biggest liability because even Benzema tracked back deeper and more consistently than he did. So when your opponents know that they can attack through your left flank without facing any problems, that IS a huge disadvantage even when you are playing against an inferior side. The criticism he made about Ronaldo is spot on. Just imagine being the manager of a team and having your left flank wide open for every game of the season.

Plus, when he tried to argue with Cristiano, Cristiano would threaten to leave, say that he is "feeling sad", and even swore at Jose:

Quoting ESPN FC (most probably):
The Portuguese pair previous enjoyed a close relationship but it has apparently fractured since Ronaldo reacted angrily to criticism from the bench during a Copa del Rey win over Valencia in January.

After that, Ronaldo refused to speak publicly in support of his boss or tie their fates together.

Spanish lipreaders claimed the player told his manager to "f¨¨ himself" during Madrid's win over Malaga last month, and he did not then start any of the club's remaining three La Liga games.

Mr Nick09 wrote:Oh and mourinho is disgraceful as i have been calling him for years. he just left the club and he is already pointing fingers at about everyone for why it didnt work for him. playing the charming card of a little coach that was bullied by players and a club that didnt undertand him or medias that hounded him. he created all those situations, really shameful and good thing he is finally gone. i havent heard him pointing out mistakes he made yet, but of course that will never happen

Right.. He totally criticized everyone after leaving Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan. Oh no wait, that didn't happen and ALL his ex players up until now (barring Mutu) ABSOLUTELY LOVE Mourinho or at least feel a great degree of respect towards him.

I will never be able to appreciate players like Ronaldo and usually I don't have them in my best possible 11s either. I think you can make stronger teams without them.

No surprise from either player tbh...

sportsczy wrote:

Gil wrote:There's a thread on the Madrid section about Ronaldo's failure to track back the sole reason Madrid have failed in the CL.....

Can't stand hypocrites lol.

Really? I must have missed that thread. We were discussing in what circumstances CR7 needs to track back and that he needs to do more... but in no way was that the reason we lost in CL for 3 years lol. The big reason? Mou's underdog tactics and his complete disregard for the midfield issues.

He's your problem now anyhow. Hope he sells Mata and buys Sneijder

The semi-special one

woow sport, mou's underdog tactics is the only reason you started making it past the last 16...FFS, how was madrid performing in CL just before mourinho came? where you ever considered favourite or even an option...ffs arsenal were more feared in the CL the few years before mou...

short term memoried madrid fans