La Liga
Mourinho Called Ozil, Coward
Fans may be wondering on what sometime happen in the dressing rooms when players and their managers get into the locker room.
German international, Mezut Ozil has giving some indications of occasional bust off when he revealed that maverick coach, Jose Mourinho once called him a “coward” and “cry baby” during a furious half-time bust up while both were in Real Madrid
Ozil spent three seasons playing under Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu, during which time he won LaLiga and the Copa del Rey.
However, Ozil’s work ethic and contribution to the cause was questioned by the Portuguese in a half-time spat, during which the now Arsenal midfielder angrily hit back at his coach.
In an extract from Ozil’s book, Die Magie des Spiels, serialized in German newspaper, Bild, Ozil revealed:
“Mourinho screamed at me ‘Do you think two nice passes are enough? You think you are too good to enter a duel. You think you are so good that you can play at 50 per cent.
“Do you know what it looks like when you enter a duel? Let me show you.’ He then tiptoed around the dressing room with his hands close to his body and pursed lips.
“I lost it and screamed at him to go out there on the pitch and play himself, taking off my jersey and throwing it at his feet. I told him to put it on and go out there.
“Mourinho was just laughing and sniped ‘Are you giving up already? You are such a coward. What do you want to do? Get in the warm shower and wash your hair?
“Do you want to be alone? Or would you rather show your team-mates, the fans and me what you can do? You know what Mesut, why don’t you start crying! You are such a cry baby, get in the shower. We do not need you.’
“I grabbed my towel and walked past him into the showers without saying a word to him.
“I later apologised for my behaviour to captain Sergio Ramos and the rest of the team.”
Ozil added that he came to realise why Mourinho made an example of him in the changing room.
“In the end, I understood why Mourinho was screaming at me like that in front of the other players,” he added.
“He wanted to make it loud and clear that he never wanted me to relax. He wanted me to get out of my comfort zone. He wanted to make me stronger and keep pushing me to ensure I kept developing.
“Looking back, Mourinho was right. I felt that playing nice was enough when I arrived at Madrid. I was too easily satisfied. Mourinho pushed me on and I thanked him for it. He later apologised for his choice of words as well. He made it clear he just wanted to get the best out of me.”
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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