from soccernet
Mourinho gets hostile reception in Spain
Jose Mourinho was spat at and subjected to verbal abuse as Chelsea
received a hostile welcome in Barcelona as they arrived to prepare
for Tuesday's Champions League showdown.
Former Barca coach Mourinho angered Catalan supporters by accusing
Lionel Messi of 'play-acting' in the first leg at Stamford Bridge
in order to get Asier del Horno sent off, with Chelsea ultimately
losing 2-1.
The Barcelona fans at the airport jeered and jostled the Blues boss
when he arrived from London and spat at him and the team bus.
Mourinho responded by smiling and applauding sarcastically.
Chelsea TV cameraman Kieren Startup, filming the scene, told the
club's official website: 'There were very few police to marshal it,
and they didn't seem interested once the players got on the coach
to stop any abuse.
'It was intimidating, there was a lot of aggressive chanting at
Mourinho to begin with, but he ignored it and then they moved on to
angry gestures and spitting.
'Everyone else on the coach seemed to be unbothered.'
Mourinho's hostile reception in the Catalan city extended to the
newspapers.
One of them used a picture of the Chelsea manager with a headline
which read 'Here comes the monster' and another printed his hotel
and room number, encouraging fans to give him a call.
Mourinho, a former Barca coach, said: 'This is more important than
the game? To me it means nothing.
'I come here to play football and what happens outside the pitch is
not important. It does not affect me. The only thing that worries
me is the game tomorrow.'
The first leg was won 2-1 by Barcelona but best remembered for a
pre-match row about the pitch, Asier del Horno's red card and
Mourinho's angry after-match reaction.
The Chelsea boss branded Barca forward Lionel Messi an actor and
claimed referee Terje Hauge had got the red-card decision
wrong.
The match referee is Markus Merk from Germany and Mourinho said:
'Before the game I am always positive . I always believe in
fairness and truth. You will never hear me say this referee has
come to help the opponents. I never say that.
'I never worry about who is the referee and linesman and their
nationality.
'I believe the referee can perform well, do his best and create a
clean situation for both teams.
'That's what we want in every game.'
Messi, Barcelona's star of the first leg, was rested for Saturday's
league game against Deportivo La Coruna but will be unleashed on
the Blues as the Spanish champions seek revenge on last season,
when they were beaten by Chelsea at the same stage of the
competition.
Mourinho said: 'The only way to stop Messi is with 11 players on
the field. We must have double marking. With 10 players it is not
possible to mark Messi because he will have a lot of space.
'He dribbles very well and if he has a one-on-one and wins it you
always need a second man to avert the danger.'
Mourinho is without suspended duo Del Horno and Michael Essien but
promised his team will give their all to become the first English
team to win in Barcelona in the European Cup.
He said: 'Barcelona have the advantage, not only in terms of the
result but emotionally. But how many times in football have things
changed?
'I don't see it as my biggest challenge.
'I have two suspended and I have to play without them but, with the
players I have available, I will do my best.'
