This is a man who seems to have spent his entire career going from battle to battle, like a weary warrior, perhaps now biting off more than he can chew. Almost like Napoleon.
The cause of Mourinho’s lawsuit against the journalist in question was being accused of being the type of man who would flee after knocking someone over. Though extremely harsh of course, the journalist hardly appears unique in being critical of the persona of the enigmatic Portuguese. Since his arrival in England self-proclamation as a ‘Special One’, Mourinho has made enemies everywhere he has gone with his abrasive self-congratulatory style. And as one journalist pointed out, Mourinho may not be the kind of person who would flee after knocking someone over, but he is the type to poke an opponent in the eye without provocation when they are not looking.
The decision to sue the Marca journalist therefore is probably best seen in the context of the seemingly increasingly fractious relationship the Madrid coach enjoys with the local press. A press who certainly seem close to some of those, such as Sergio Ramos, whom Mourinho is said to have a poor relationship with. There have been increasing reports of tensions in the squad between those Spanish World Cup winners who do not bend to Mourinho’s every command and the Portuguese speaking axis. It hardly seems helpful.
As noted previously, Mourinho has taken on a different challenge at Madrid to others he has experienced. At Chelsea he took on a team with talent but without experience of success. At Porto and Inter Milan he took on teams without a culture of winning in Europe, and changed that dramatically. At Madrid he took on a team desperate to overhaul Barcelona, but who also had several players who have won all there is to win on the international stage, the biggest tournaments. And crucially, by playing the Barcelona way.
This may be one of the issues that has caused problems at Madrid. When last season revelations appeared in Marca of a dispute at the heart of the Madrid camp between Ramos and Mourinho, the Portuguese coach was incensed. This latest act seems like a move towards revenge. But that will not solve or cure the problems eating away at the heart of Madrid.
