Mourinho didnt win his Champions League trophies just with hard word, pride, effort and sweat - he also received some favourable refereeing decisions (and fortune) along the way. In the 2003-04 edition, his Porto side were on the verge of elimination during their second round tie with Manchester United. Ahead 1-0 in the second-leg at Old Trafford, the dominant English champions had a Paul Scholes goal scandalously disallowed for a non-existent offside decision. This meant that a last-minute strike from Costinha, following a shocking goalkeeper error by Tim Howard, put Porto through 3-2 on aggregate. Mourinho didnt complain, instead he raced down the touchline for his famous celebration.
In the 1-0 semi-final victory over Deportivo, Jose also benefited from outrageous refereeing. In the first-leg in Portugal, which finished 0-0, one of Depors star players Jorge Andrade was sent off for playfully kicking at former team-mate Deco. The pair unsuccessfully remonstrated with referee Markus Merk that they were just fooling around, Andrade repeating the words: Hes my friend, hes my friend. The red card had a huge bearing on the tie. Without their rock in defence, Deportivo lost the return 1-0 at home, and Mourinhos Porto proceeded to the final where they beat Monaco 3-0.
Fast forward six years to Mourinhos second Champions League triumph, and once again Inters success was not as black and white as he'd like us to think. Granted, the Nerazzurri were deserving champions, but they had their rub of the green on the path to glory too. In the second round first leg with Chelsea at San Siro, the Londoners would have probably returned to Stamford Bridge with a 2-2 draw had referee Mejuto Gonzalez awarded Chelsea a penalty for a clear last-man trip on Salomon Kalou by Walter Samuel, which could have also potentially resulted in a red card for the Argentine.
In the classic semi-final win against Guardiolas Barcelona, Mourinho has every right to complain about Thiago Mottas unjust red card in the second-leg that forced Inter into a heroic rearguard action in Catalonia. But he overlooks Diego Militos offside third goal in Milan, which was ultimately the difference between the two sides on paper.
As for Guardiolas supposedly embarrassing Champions League successes, the 2009 semi-final second-leg at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Barca is in danger of turning into a mythical old wives' tale with Barcelona as the evil baddie. The truth is that of the five penalty claims that were turned down by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, only one was a penalty the clear handball by Gerard Pique. Dani Alves obstruction on Florent Malouda may have been inside the area, but obstruction is only a penalty offence when really serious, and this was not. The same can be said for Eric Abidals slight pull of Didier Drogbas shirt before half-time, which preceded a one-second delay before the Ivorian catapulted himself onto the floor like hed caught the plague.
In the episode involving Drogba and Yaya Toure on 56 minutes, both were wrestling each other, and even if Kolos younger brother did draw back the Chelsea hitman, it was well outside the area. Finally, regarding Michael Ballacks last-gasp appeal against Samuel Etoo, the Cameroonian may have had his arm higher than usual, but it was clearly ball-to-hand (the very top of his arm and back), while he also had his back turned. FIFAs Laws of the Game at the time were crystal clear on this.
It is amusing that Mourinho conveniently overlooked the fact that Abidal was wrongly red-carded on 65 minutes for a professional foul when Anelka had tripped over his own feet. This forced Barcelona to chase the last 25 minutes of the game with just 10 men. As a result the space opened up for Chelsea on the counter-attack, and it was only after this dismissal that the stonewall Pique penalty incident occurred. It is also peculiar how Mourinho discarded the performance of referee Wolfgang Stark (Yes, the same WOLFGANG STARK from Real Madid vs. Barcelona) in the first-leg at Camp Nou. During that game, Stark waved away an excellent Thierry Henry penalty shout, failed to send off Ballack, and also harshly booked Carles Puyol, forcing Barcelona to start a left-back at centre-back, and a centre midfielder at left-back in the second-leg.
The semi-final comparison to be drawn between Chelsea 2009 and Real Madrid 2011 is that both teams played anti-football against Barcelona. While Mourinho got his tactics spot on in the first two Clasicos of April, and Real Madrid picked their moments to attack Barca, in Clasico III the Special One was far too negative and brought the problems on himself. Pepes red card was undoubtedly harsh, but once again Mourinho ignores the fact that his naturalised countryman should have been sent off during the Copa del Rey final a week earlier. The big decisions in Valencia went the way of the Blancos.
Mourinho must realise that, despite his genius, he cannot win every single trophy every year. That is an impossibility and he needs to accept his rare defeats with grace. To attempt to downgrade the achievements of a Barcelona side who are probably the most exciting club side we have ever seen - and on their way to challenging the likes of Ajax 71-73, Bayern 74-76 and Milan 89-94 for the title of greatest ever club team - is truly dishonourable. To be unable to support his wild theories with facts is hypocritical and slanderous.
