Johan Cruyff’s key points.

Mourinho is doing his job the only way he understands it. The person responsible for allowing the Portuguese to ruin Madrid’s legacy is Florentino. And only him.

I don’t know what are all the fuss about… and all the surprise. The hands on the foreheads after Mourinho’s Champions League post match press conference. I’ve heard he’s a loco. That he is a manipulator. I have read a thousand adjectives trying to define what he said, and how he said them, and for the most part, it was not good. It was ugly, disgraceful, and he lost all credibility. And while it is aimed and fired at the Portuguese, I think if there is anyone who should be blamed for everything that has happened, it is none other than at the Casa Blanca itself.

Mourinho is doing his job, in his own way, and in the only way he understands football. But he is just the coach. Above him, is someone who decides everything, the president. He is the boss. And he is the one who draws the line [that can or cannot be crossed] in the club. It is the president that will decide what the club wants, and how he wants his team to be. He is the one who selects his ‘general’, the qualified person who would lead his players in their campaign.

Ultimately, on the pitch, the coach is an extension of whatever values the president wants to defend. There is only one problem: when the only value that he wants to defend is the final victory, when he gives all the power to his general so he can finish off the ‘enemy’, disregarding all of the institution’s history and values, then that president [himself] has crossed a very dangerous line.

Disregarding everything

Florentino signed Mourinho to end Barca’s supremacy at any price. I couldn’t care if he wants to relinquish dominance on the pitch, and giving up the attacking football that, for years, had been the foundation of Madrid’s game at the Bernabeu. It doesn’t matter to me that a professional would complain about everything, I mean everything, as long as they get the win. But Florentino has forgotten that he has fantastic players – Players that could eventually form a great team. Players that, one day, could topple Barca while giving joy to their fans.

When I came to Barcelona in ‘88 [as their coach], Madrid, for me, was the best team in the last 40 years [prior to that]. They had La Quinta del Buitre [The five vultures] and had just won three back-to-back league titles. In Barcelona, everyone was crying foul. The referees were to be blamed for everything – Madriditis in every way. They were better, so of course they were winning. They won two more titles [after that] but we were growing [in strength]. [From the time I arrived,] we were helping Madrid to be better but were growing ourselves, until the day when we were playing as good, or maybe even better, than them that we managed to beat them. It was the Dream Team against La Quinta.

We won four consecutive league titles ourselves, but they were still very good. And they could have even beaten us to two of those league titles. They were a great team, but then no matter how great they were, you can always beat them by playing well. But if you choose the wrong path, you can always end up with nothing.

The victory they [Mourinho's Madrid] achieved in the Copa del Rey, being something of a major accomplishment, has turned into something minor, almost insignificant. Today, everyone was only talking about whether Pepe’s expulsion in the Champions League was fair or not. Some say yes and others not. By contrast, there were no discussions about other actions that were so clear cut. The culprits got off scot-free and no one complained. Between the Cup and the Champions League, Villa was assaulted by Arbeloa, Marcelo on Pedro, and the stamp of Pepe on Messi was horrible. I’m not trying to claim anything. It happened but the referee didn’t see it, period. I’m not talking about whether they should be expelled or not. I’m talking about their [playing] style. These moves have been replayed [on TVs] a thousand times around the world. And someone who is impartial, sitting on his or her couch at home, I don’t believe he or she is buying it [Madrid’s innocence]. I’m talking about their behaviour on the pitch.

I know Butragueno and Valdano very well. What they are [as a person], and had been, as players, what they stood for, and what they stand for [now]. I have not talked to them, but I do not believe they approve these kinds of behaviours. But never mind. Their president has made his choice. Mourinho is now an extension of Florentino. The Portuguese is merely the executioner.

The role of Guardiola

I listened to Guardiola’s press conference prior to the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. I support what he said. Except it was a mistake. It was not he who should have said them. He is an employee. A general, but still, an employee. His job is to prepare his team so they can play well and win, but not be the face of the club, even if he does it better than anyone else. This responsibility rests with the president or his delegate. Florentino has Mourinho because the ‘entertainment’ comes with the ‘package’. This is the second time that Pep has got to do something that he detests. Let’s hope it is the last time.