Sympathy for the devil: Mourinho,
Inter will have plan for Barcelona, Messi
By Ray Curren (Set Piece Analysts).
“So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.”
- Dark Helmet
My expertise does not lie with either La Liga or Serie A, but – to me – the UEFA Champions League semifinal encounter between Barcelona and Inter Milan is absolutely fascinating.
On one side stands Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola, and Barcelona, who stand for all that is right with the “beautiful” game. They score goals in bunches, play a free-flowing style, and are generally considered the most entertaining team in the world with the universe’s most entertaining player (this season by a wide margin), the aforementioned Messi.
Barca (even the shortened version of their name sounds cool) wears Unicef because they don’t need no stinking sponsors on the front of their kits, so they might as well make the world a better place. Even their club motto translates into “more than a club”, and no one was surprised when they chose pink for their alternate kits this season.
On the other – evil – side enters Inter Milan, coached by Jose Mourinho, who dubbed himself “The Special One”, and while admired for his success, is loathed for being arrogant and quotes like this while with Chelsea.
“Look, we’re not entertaining? I don’t care; we win.”
“1-nil to the Chelsea” was the favored scoreline of the Blues on their way to Premiership (but never European) glory.
(This conversation could also devolve into the differences of the wide-open Spanish league and the defensive-minded Italian league, but that may not be necessarily true anymore, even if public perception may continue in that vain).
Inter wears black and blue (what else?). They are sometimes called “the serpents”, and they have to share their stadium with the generally more popular AC Milan.
Good triumphed over all evil last season as Barcelona won everything in sight, including La Liga and the Champions League. But there was nearly a big hiccup, as in the Champions League semifinals, Mourinho’s old squad Chelsea (now led by Guus Hiddink) gave a performance Mourinho must have loved from afar.
Hiddink “parked the bus” to perfection in the first leg in Spain, much to the consternation of “beautiful game” lovers everywhere, getting a precious nil-nil. In the return leg, Chelsea got their goal early from Michael Essien, but had their hearts broken when Andres Iniesta scored deep into stoppage time, sending Barca through on away goals.
Good triumphed that time, but seemingly more often than not (outside of Hollywood, of course) evil takes the day.
I love “beautiful” soccer as much as the next, especially when coaching youngsters, but I must admit, there is a place in my heart for evil. I like to see Arsene Wenger squirm and Arsenal pass the ball 60 times without taking a shot. I like to see Stoke City suck the life out of games and win on a ball thrown 60 yards and tapped in for an own goal.
One of my favorite games of all time was in the 2006 World Cup when Trinidad and Tobago hustled and fouled and defended in front of their goal enough to get a 0-0 tie against Sweden.
I am also fond of Cameroon’s hack job of Diego Maradona to open the 1990 World Cup, a 1-0 upset. And, yes, I know T&T and Cameroon had a combined three red cards in those games.
I like Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho was paid handsomely to give Inter Milan the Champions League title. And he’s not about the let the fact that the other team is more talented and plays prettier soccer stop him. It’s never stopped him before.
Inter Milan and Barcelona were together in the group stage, and when the two teams met back in September, Mourinho decided his best option was to play – you guessed it – defensively, even though he was at home. The game ended 0-0.
Two months later, Barca got a 2-0 lead at the Nou Camp, but they were much more desperate at the time to get a result.
I drool at the psychology that Mourinho will try to employ with a few weeks to prepare for the conquering heroes.
You want a key matchup: how about Messi against Maicon? Lionel Messi, the guy who currently stands 5-foot-6 and is only that tall due to treatments he got when he was younger. Poor guy.
Then there’s Maicon, the Brazilian stopper who could probably play linebacker for some NFL squads (although he did prove he has some skill Friday against Juventus). Booooo.
Mourinho will also likely turn to defenders (see: goons) Walter Samuel, Lucio, Javier Zanetti, and Esteban Cambiasso to frustrate (see: foul) Messi at every turn, and do their best to turn beautiful into ugly.
But beauty, my friends, is in the eye of the beholder.
