An A to Z of his greatest controversies over the last decade ... A is for ambulances:When Petr Cech suffered a severe head injury after clattering into another player at Reading, Mourinho pointed the finger at the ambulance service and claimed that their slow reaction could have proved fatal for his goalkeeper. Thirty minutes in the dressing room, waiting for an ambulance ... If my goalkeeper dies in that dressing room, it is something English football has to think about, the Portuguese raged. The reality, however, was rather different: the ambulance arrived after seven minutes and within 19, Cech was already in hospital. B is for Benitez:Mourinho and Rafa Benitez have never seen eye to eye and their rivalry was not restricted only to the pitch during the Portugueses time at Chelsea and the Spaniards spell at Liverpool, when the Reds beat the Blues in two Champions League semi-finals. Later, Benitez replaced Mourinho at Inter and the Portuguese poured scorn on his rivals triumph in the Club World Cup as he took the credit for the trophy. I thought he was going to thank me for the title I gave him, Mourinho said. Inter fans would tell you how they really feel about it. C is for the Camp Nou car park:Furious at several decisions by referee Jose Antonio Teixeira Vitienes in Madrids Copa del Rey quarter-final second-leg clash at Camp Nou in January 2012, Mourinho waited for the official in the car park following his sides elimination and directed abuse at the Cantabrian. Now you will go and have a cigar and you will laugh, artist! he is reported to have told the official. The Portuguese had earlier appealed for three penalties, believed Lionel Messi should have been dismissed for a second bookable offence and was unhappy at Sergio Ramos red card. In the press room he said: I wont speak about the referee, but what I have heard in the dressing room is that it is impossible to win here. THE SPANISH ONE - BENITEZ D is for Dani Alves:When Barcas Dani Alves claimed Mourinho had not invented football, the Portuguese sarcastically compared the defender to Albert Einstein and reminded the Brazilian that it was a Portuguese who discovered his country. Mourinho also accused Alves of simulation to get Pepe sent off in the Champions League semi-final against Barca in 2011 and can clearly be seen shouting obscenities to the Brazilian in anotherClasicoclash. E is for EPL:Mourinho met Arsenals Ashley Cole without permission to discuss a transfer to Chelsea and, following an inquiry, the English Premier League fined the Portuguese €245,000 for tapping up the player. The punishment was later reduced to €92,000. F is for Frisk:Popular referee Anders Frisk was forced to retire from the game after he was wrongly accused by Mourinho of inviting then Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard to his room at half-time in a Champions League last-16 clash at Camp Nou. Rijkaard remonstrated with the official at the break but the Dutchman was not allowed to follow the official into his room. Mourinho, however, claimed otherwise and blamed the invented incident for the second-half dismissal of Didier Drogba as Chelsea lost 2-1. The Swede later received death threats from Blues supporters and was forced out of the game altogether. Uefa referees chief Volker Roth later labelled Mourinho the enemy of football for the Frisk fiasco. G is for Guardiola:Mourinho was assistant coach at Barcelona when Pep Guardiola was club captain and the pair were close, but there was no love lost between them as they went head to head for two seasons in Spain. The Portuguese mocked the Catalan following the Copa del Rey final in 2011 after Guardiola had lamented a close offside call that saw a Pedro strike ruled out. There is now a new group of which only he is a member, which criticises referees correct decisions. Guardiola responded with a rant of his own before Barca and Madrid met in the Champions League and after the Catalans came out on top, Mourinho attacked his former friend once again. He knows how he has won the Champions League twice, he said, bemoaning what he called The Scandal of Stamford Bridge - when Peps 2009 side survived to beat the Blues as several decisions went in their favour.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Feb 2014 10:48:23 +0000