"Kicking is the solution": Di Maria exposes Mourinho's plan to stop Messi and Barcelona

A revealing confession about the first term

Angel Di Maria has lifted the lid on the instructions Jose Mourinho drilled into Real Madrid's players to stop Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, recalling the tension that defined the clashes between the two rivals during the Portuguese's first spell in the Spanish capital.

Speaking to Sport newspaper, the Argentine looked back on those days: "Mourinho instilled in the mind of every Real Madrid player that the only way to beat Barcelona was to hit them." Barcelona's five goals laid bare how much Madrid struggled.

Facing that Barcelona side was torture. They dominated the ball and made their opponents chase shadows, a point Di Maria underlined by pointing to the 5-0 hammering Real Madrid took at the Camp Nou.

"I don't think I've played a game in which I touched the ball so little, like that 5-0 at the Camp Nou," Di Maria said of the match.

"I was trying to press, but the ball was never where I went," he added. "It was unbelievable."

Read also: Will the Clasico turn into a disaster? Mourinho faces a terrifying test

Clashes despite the friendship: Messi obstructed!
Di Maria has lifted the lid on the fierce tension that engulfed the clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona across a frantic 20-day stretch, a spell that pitted the two sides against each other in decisive encounters from the Copa del Rey final to the Champions League semi-final.
The Argentine recalled the gulf between the mood of those matches and the bonds that united players from both clubs in the Spanish national team. "In the national team, everyone was friends, and they would easily beat any national team they faced, but when they played against each other, they would trade punches," he said.
He also looked back on the kick he landed on Lionel Messi during the 2011 Copa del Rey final, thrown to stop a Barcelona counter-attack in its tracks.
"I apologised to him, but if you don't bring him down, you won't be able to stop them from scoring the goal," Di Maria said. The words carry fresh weight with another Real Madrid and Barcelona showdown looming this Sunday evening in the tenth round of La Liga, not least with Mourinho back at the helm of the Royal Club this season.
Read also: "You will bring the wrath of God upon us": Mohamed Salah at the heart of a religious controversy in Turkey

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Read also: Will the Clasico turn into a disaster? Mourinho faces a terrifying test

Clashes despite the friendship: Messi obstructed!

Read also: "You will bring the wrath of God upon us": Mohamed Salah at the heart of a religious controversy in Turkey

ENJOYED THIS STORY?