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CL Comment: Mourinho Wins The Battle With Van Gaal And The War With Italy
Goal.com's Peter Staunton salutes the Beneamata and their embattled trainer.
May 22, 2010 5:55:00 PM
By Peter Staunton
That seems to be that. Certainly, for this season's edition of the Champions League and more than likely, for Jose Mourinho's time in Italy. The Portuguese coach of Inter did not have to outwit his erstwhile colleague, Louis van Gaal, on the night; his tried system worked like a dream from the start.
Mourinho is the great protagonist in his own narratives. When he started out this season, he seemed to do so with a fatalistic assuredness that his time would soon be at an end. And he swept the board. The Coppa Italia, the Scudetto and now the grand daddy of them all, the UEFA Champions League, all bent to his will. They were all won by a disciplined band of players who facilitated their besieged coach to thumb his nose at his detractors.
The media, the referees, rival coaches and rival players have all tried and failed to knock the belligerent Mourinho from his perch. They all hoped for him and his players to fail. But they did not. Instead, as he did at Chelsea, he created the siege mentality, the cocksure, us-versus-them standpoint that has proven to hold the recipe for success.
It will not be lost on Mourinho that he has delivered Italy's first Champions League since 2007, Inter's first in 45 years, with a brand of distinctly Italian football. The sweet pay-off for him is that he has stood on the outside and showed the inward looking Italians how to do it. And he can leave the peninsula with two justifiably upright middle fingers.
He maintained Inter's domestic dominance and gave president Massimo Moratti that which he has longed for since taking over at San Siro. The owner backed his coach in the transfer market and Mourinho's men, the likes of Lucio, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito can stand proudly beside their trainer.
The loyalty Mourinho has commanded from the group was as evident at the Bernabeu as it has been all season. Samuel Eto'o, once the great striker, has been converted into a diligent right-sided midfield player. Christian Chivu has scarcely played centerback since he left Roma. The individual need for glory is foreaken for the benefit of the collective. It is left to the Special One to pick up the media glare.
Diego Milito was the outstanding individual on display for Inter throughout a classic counter-attacking performance. The Italian team were not afforded the lion's share of the ball but made the most use of it when they had it. Il Principe's passes for Sneijder and Goran Pandev deserved to be converted and his two goals were illustrative examples of the devastating strike power the Argentinian possesses. And it was the tactics of Mourinho that has allowed him to flourish instead of Eto'o.
His gameplan was the perfect remedy for Bayern's front-foot attacking style of play. The Germans managed to work some decent openings but more often than not found themselves 40 yards from goal looking at 10 Nerazzurri shirts. Van Gaal admitted before the game that his team are not among Europe's elite and so it proved. FC Hollywood were patently lacking a 'plan b'; the introductions of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez served a reminder that the Bavarians are still some way short of assembling a genuinely class team the like of which has been moulded by Mourinho.
Inter will win no plaudits from the Barcelona-fancying aesthetes but it is they and not the Catalans who have claimed the treble. Whether or not the Bernabeu would stand in unison and salute the pragmatism seen in the Champions League final for the sake of wins and titles remains to be seen... but not for much longer.
Well done Inter and well done Jose. Serie A has spent the past two seasons ridding itself of its best players. It is about to lose its best coach.
The 2010 World Cup is fast approaching, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
Mourinho is the great protagonist in his own narratives. When he started out this season, he seemed to do so with a fatalistic assuredness that his time would soon be at an end. And he swept the board. The Coppa Italia, the Scudetto and now the grand daddy of them all, the UEFA Champions League, all bent to his will. They were all won by a disciplined band of players who facilitated their besieged coach to thumb his nose at his detractors.
The media, the referees, rival coaches and rival players have all tried and failed to knock the belligerent Mourinho from his perch. They all hoped for him and his players to fail. But they did not. Instead, as he did at Chelsea, he created the siege mentality, the cocksure, us-versus-them standpoint that has proven to hold the recipe for success.
It will not be lost on Mourinho that he has delivered Italy's first Champions League since 2007, Inter's first in 45 years, with a brand of distinctly Italian football. The sweet pay-off for him is that he has stood on the outside and showed the inward looking Italians how to do it. And he can leave the peninsula with two justifiably upright middle fingers.
He maintained Inter's domestic dominance and gave president Massimo Moratti that which he has longed for since taking over at San Siro. The owner backed his coach in the transfer market and Mourinho's men, the likes of Lucio, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito can stand proudly beside their trainer.
Shaking The Shackles Of The Peninsula| Jose Mourinho
The loyalty Mourinho has commanded from the group was as evident at the Bernabeu as it has been all season. Samuel Eto'o, once the great striker, has been converted into a diligent right-sided midfield player. Christian Chivu has scarcely played centerback since he left Roma. The individual need for glory is foreaken for the benefit of the collective. It is left to the Special One to pick up the media glare.
Diego Milito was the outstanding individual on display for Inter throughout a classic counter-attacking performance. The Italian team were not afforded the lion's share of the ball but made the most use of it when they had it. Il Principe's passes for Sneijder and Goran Pandev deserved to be converted and his two goals were illustrative examples of the devastating strike power the Argentinian possesses. And it was the tactics of Mourinho that has allowed him to flourish instead of Eto'o.
His gameplan was the perfect remedy for Bayern's front-foot attacking style of play. The Germans managed to work some decent openings but more often than not found themselves 40 yards from goal looking at 10 Nerazzurri shirts. Van Gaal admitted before the game that his team are not among Europe's elite and so it proved. FC Hollywood were patently lacking a 'plan b'; the introductions of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez served a reminder that the Bavarians are still some way short of assembling a genuinely class team the like of which has been moulded by Mourinho.
Inter will win no plaudits from the Barcelona-fancying aesthetes but it is they and not the Catalans who have claimed the treble. Whether or not the Bernabeu would stand in unison and salute the pragmatism seen in the Champions League final for the sake of wins and titles remains to be seen... but not for much longer.
Well done Inter and well done Jose. Serie A has spent the past two seasons ridding itself of its best players. It is about to lose its best coach.
The 2010 World Cup is fast approaching, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com's World Cup homepage and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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