Chelsea get rough welcome in Barcelona
Mourinho spat at by Barça fans
Staff and agencies
Monday March 6, 2006
Jose Mourinho
Mourinho in an earlier phlegm-less moment. Photograph: David Cannon/Getty.
Jose Mourinho was spat at and subjected to verbal abuse as Chelsea received a hostile welcome in Barcelona ahead of Tuesday's Champions League showdown.
Former Barça coach Mourinho angered Catalan supporters by accusing Lionel Messi of "play-acting" in the first leg at Stamford Bridge in order to get Asier del Horno sent off, with Chelsea ultimately losing 2-1.
The Barcelona fans at the airport jeered and jostled the Blues manager when he arrived from London and spat at him and the team bus. Mourinho responded by smiling and applauding sarcastically. Chelsea TV cameraman Kieren Startup, filming the scene, said: "There were very few police to marshal it, and they didn't seem interested once the players got on the coach to stop any abuse. It was intimidating, there was a lot of aggressive chanting at Mourinho to begin with, but he ignored it and then they moved on to angry gestures and spitting. Everyone else on the coach seemed to be unbothered."
Article continues
Meanwhile, Messi has vowed to make Mourinho pay in Tuesday's return match. "I want to produce the biggest match of my life against Chelsea to silence the mouth of Mourinho and his players," he told the Daily Star. "They claim I am an actor. They are wrong. I am a professional footballer and I have received many kicks this season. The actors are for the cinema and not for sport.
"I do not want contact with Mourinho because he was deceptive with me through his behaviour. He should look at the bruises on my legs. Del Horno has also had a lot to say about me but so he should because he got nowhere near me on the pitch until he fouled me."
A bit extreme from the Barca fans, but I like Messi's response. Let the games begin; it should be a great game tomorrow.
