Champions League
Mourinho: Cristiano Ronaldo was completely devastated after one of the losses, so I went to his house
José Mourinho cried only once after losing the game. It was after a Champions League rematch with Bayern Munich in 2012. Real Madrid succumbed to the German side after penalties and the defeat remains in the minds of fans to this day. The Portuguese revealed details of the trip home.
José Mourinho cried only once after losing the game. It was after a Champions League rematch with Bayern Munich in 2012. Real Madrid succumbed to the German side after penalties and the defeat remains in the minds of fans to this day. The Portuguese revealed details of the trip home.
Mourinho at Real Madrid
The Portuguese spent 3 years at the Madrid big club, specifically at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013. During this period, he managed to win 3 trophies for winning LaLiga, the Spanish Cup and for winning the Spanish Super Cup. Of course, at that time, Real Madrid’s main rival was Guardiola’s Barcelona.
Fans of the White Ballet will remember Mourinho mainly for the great counterattacks with which the team around Cristiano Ronaldo tore apart one defence after another. Barcelona fans, on the other hand, have vivid memories of the duels between the two sides, from which it is a miracle Lionel Messi did not leave with a serious injury.
To this day, the Portuguese manager holds interesting records. With Real Madrid, he scored the highest number of points in history (100), his team had the most wins in a single season (32) and scored the highest number of goals in a season in history (121). Besides that, Real Madrid also had the most consistent goal difference (+89).
The double-header with Bayern Munich
Real Madrid started the Champions League semi-final double-header at the Allianz Arena. Franck Ribéry opened the scoring for the home side in the first leg. The White Ballet saved their reply until the second half, when Mesut Özil equalised with an accurate strike. Unfortunately for the Spanish side, Mario Gomez decided the home team’s victory in the 90th minute.
Real Madrid entered the return leg with a completely different side. Cristiano Ronaldo turned the match around in the 14th minute with his second goal of the match. Less than a quarter of an hour later, however, Arjen Robben reduced the score to 2-1 from the penalty mark and thus levelled the match.
The moment when Marcelo sends the ball to Ronaldo remains foremost in the minds of the White Ballet fans, but Gonzalo Higuaín goes for the ball in an offside position, Ronaldo eventually gets to the ball, lobbing Neuer and the referee waves offside.
The duel comes down to a penalty shootout. Ronaldo, Kaká and finally Sergio Ramos failed to score for Real. Xabi Alonso was the only successful enforcer for the home side. On the other side, Kroos and Lahm failed to score, but their teammates made no mistake. On the home side, two Ballon d’Or winners failed to convert their penalties, who would have expected it.
Mourinho cried after the game
José Mourinho spoke about the trip home. “I cried on the way home from the Bayern game, it was the only time it happened. Suddenly Jorge Mendes (Ronaldo’s agent) called me, he told me that Cristiano was completely devastated and if I could come to his house.”
“I said I was completely devastated too. I got ready, wiped my tears and went. We were completely devastated,” Mourinho added.
It should be noted that it was probably not just Mourinho and Ronaldo who were disappointed that night, but every Real Madrid fan as well, as this was one of the best teams of the White Ballet that was left without a Champions League trophy.
🗣️ José Mourinho: "I cried driving home after the Bayern defeat, it was the only time I did it."
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) February 28, 2024
Later, I get a call from Jorge Mendes: "Do me a favour: go to Cristiano's house because he's dead.
I told him: "I'm also dead. But I did it, prepare yourself, no tears and let's… pic.twitter.com/aoPJvizG7b
Source: Twitter, Real Madrid
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