On Tuesday, about 24 hours after he was sacked from Tottenham Hotspur, Jose Mourinho posted a picture of himself being thrown in the air by Real Madrid players following their triumph over Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona in the 2011 Copa del Rey final, courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo strike in extra time. Spanish outlet AS have interpreted his gesture as “tipping the wink” to Real president Florentino Perez over a potential return to Madrid, after Perez heaped praise on the Portuguese tactician following the Spurs sacking.
“He raised the level of competitiveness in the three years that he was here,” Perez said.
“And since 2011 we have reached nine of 11 Champions League semi-finals. I will always be grateful to him for that gene that he implanted in us. Before [Mourinho arrived] we were always getting knocked out in the last 16.”
There were moments during this season when the position of Zinedine Zidane as the head coach at Real was reportedly in serious doubt. Real’s results have picked up lately – they’ve reached the Champions League semifinals and are very much in the race for the La Liga title, but various speculative reports still suggest the club could be in the market for a new man in charge of the team this summer.
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
