Commentary: Barcelona Is Not Obsessed with Jose Mourinho; We Have Pep Guardiola
The Madrid media never cease to amaze me!
They are always willing to research anything that will bash FC Barcelona and its fans.
Last week, the notoriously terrible AS newspaper published an article that, according to them, displays how Culés are obsessed with Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho.
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In the article, AS reports that according to Google Trends, a web tool that displays how often a particular search is performed online in several regions of the world and in several languages, Jose Mourinho is the most-searched person online in Barcelona.
The article also states that word “Mourinho” produced more hits from Barcelona than even cities in Portugal, Mourinho’s home country. Barcelona was ahead of Lisbon, Porto, even Madrid and Valencia. Catalan was the language used most in searches.
The article continues on and states how Culés and the entire city of Barcelona are obsessed with Mourinho and how Barcelona fans follow Jose‘s moves.
Come on now. Ridiculous.
Some of the most searched topics include when the sprinklers came on after Inter Milan eliminated Barcelona from the UEFA Champions League semifinals in 2010 to the infamous eye poke to Tito Vilanova. AS states that Mourinho is present in all football headlines, and this explains why he is the most searched person in Barcelona and the Catalan language.
In order to give a “victory” to Mou, AS used the stat that Jose Mourinho is searched more than Pep Guardiola (86 million results to 51 million). AS said, “Mou widely wins to Barca.”
Another way AS made Mou “beat” Pep Guardiola in the article was to use a study from the Portugese (shocking, I know) IPAM marketing school of researcher Daniel Sa (this ought to be good) that according to Sa’s figures, Mournhio is the world’s most valuable coach. Mou has an estimated value of 25 million euros compared to Pep Guardiola at 20 million euros.
Don’t worry; I’ll rip the Madrid media in a second.
Lastly, AS states that “Mourinho’s popularity shows in his salary” as well.
Take a look at the logic they use here.
According to the article, Mourinho earns 13.5 million euros and is the highest paid coach in the world, according to the IPAM marketing school study.
The article continues and compares Mou’s salary with an American coach’s salary. They state that according to Forbes, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the highest paid coach in the US at 5.5 million euros per year. The article ends with “For all these reasons, Culés can’t forget about Mourinho.”
I don’t even know where to start. Let me put on my suit and be Culés’ lawyer.
To start, Jose Mourinho may be the most searched person by Culés, but it’s not because we are obsessed with him. Culés search Mou’s name because of different reasons, none of which are due to obsession.
Some of the reasons Culés search Mou because he is obviously the manager of our biggest rival, Real Madrid. Another reason is because he helps fans get the blood boiling before games against Madrid. But one of the main reasons Barcelona fans search Mou’s name is because of all the idiotic and arrogant things Mourinho has said and done.
He still says and does idiotic and arrogant things.
Some of his actions make us laugh—like the “Por qué?” rant of last year—and some of them make us cringe—like his eye poke at Vilanova—and that is why we read or view Mourinho things online.
He’s entertaining, sad and pathetic at the same time. He’s like watching a cross-eyed dog chase its own tail.
It’s doesn’t bother me that Mou is the most searched person in Catalonia because it is logical. Again, Jose is Real Madrid’s manager, he has physically assaulted Tito Vilanova—yes, an eye poke is legally a physical assault—he is the king of denial and idiotic, childish remarks. He’s entertaining as well; this cannot be denied. Let me remind you that FC Barcelona is “Mes Qué Un Club,” and the club means more to Catalans that most clubs mean to their fans (study the history of FCB if you’re not sure what I’m talking about).
With all this, how can he not be the most loathed man in Catalonia, thus making him a popular Internet search among Culés?
The only thing that would make Jose more despised is if his last name happened to be Franco (look it up).
We Culés can’t stand Mourinho, but by no means are any of us obsessed. If there is a coach that we are obsessed with, it’s our own coach, Pep Guardiola. Perhaps we Culés trust too much in him, live and die by his choices or are overly nervous waiting for him to re-sign with the team. But it’s better to obsessed with your own coach than your rival’s coach.
What makes me laugh is how the Madrid media looks for anything to get a victory on Pep Guardiola, Barcelona and its fans.
They state that Jose beats Pep Guardiola in Internet searches; thus, Mou widely wins to Barça. Now, AS is correct that Jose is more popular online that Pep, so it’s assumed that it can be argued that he has “defeated” Barcelona.
The truth is that to consider this a Mourinho win over Barcelona is wrong because Pep Guardiola is not FC Barcelona itself. Pep is a representation of the club like Mou is a representation of Real Madrid.
To say these are the same thing is a logical fallacy. Here’s their argument:
“Mou beat Pep in Internet searches. Pep manages Barcelona. Therefore, Mou beat Barcelona.”
Just because one thing represents another thing does not mean it actually is the other. For example, your lawyer is your representative, but just because he represents you does not mean that your lawyer is actually you.
What the Madrid media failed to mention is the reason why Jose is more searched than Guardiola. Mourinho is searched more because he is more controversial, thus more fascinating—for good and bad reasons—for fans. He’s constantly rumored to be going back to coach in England; thus, more EPL fans search Mou’s name. And, he’s a quote machine, thus getting more hits on YouTube, and so on.
Mourinho is more entertaining, and it could be said he is more fascinating than Pep; of course, Mou is more popular in Internet searches, even among some Catalan people.
One reason I will acknowledge that he is a popular search is that he is a great coach. I have not or will not ever deny that Jose Mourniho is not a great manager. What makes him so disliked by many is Jose’s personality and his ego; the Jose outside the artistry of managing.
Mourinho can be respected as a manager, but not liked as a person.
This may sound like a contradiction, but it’s not. It goes back to generalization. Just because Mou is the way he is outside the coach’s box doesn’t mean he is not a great manager. “Jose as a manager” and “Jose in the media” are two very different things.
AS seems like it’s using a biased source (a Portuguese researcher) for their second point when they said that Mourinho is more valuable than Pep. The researcher could be a non-biased source as well (he might even be a Barcelona fan), but there is no evidence either way.
The Madrid media can say Mou is more valuable in than Pep, including using the €25 million to Pep’s €20 million statistic, but their source is questionable, which makes it unreliable and unsubmittable in this case. Thus, Mou being a more valuable coach than Pep cannot be proved.
To end my defense, AS states that Mourinho’s popularity shows in his salary as well. They give the statistic of how much Jose earns, which is €13.5 million. This is a correct stat. But they use this stat purposely incorrectly. Again, the Madrid media use logical fallacy.
Madrid is making the assuming that just because Mourinho is the highest paid coach in football, he is popular because “Mourinho’s popularity shows in his salary.” This is obviously an incorrect statement and quite frankly, an idiotic and ignorant statement to make.
I’m not surprised, because they make idiotic and ignorant statements all the time.
Just because someone is paid the most amount of money or something costs the most amount of money doesn’t mean that it is the most popular of any category of any kind.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid player on Real Madrid, but he may not be the most popular Blanco; that title can be any other player like longtime Madrid hero Iker Casillas or Sergio Ramos.
I don’t understand why they brought Bill Belichick and his salary into their article. I guess they wanted to show that Real Madrid’s coach is earning more than any American football coach is. Or maybe they are saying that the Madrid coach, who is in their eyes the best coach in football, is getting paid more than the best coach in American football.
So what’s your point, AS?
They end their case that for all these confusing and illogical reasons, Barcelona fans can’t forget Jose Mourinho. I guess whatever makes them feel better helps.
AS’ article is another example of how the Madrid media are the ones truly obsessed. The Madrid media are obsessed with Barcelona and are obsessed with the idea of Barcelona being obsessed with Mourinho.
Why would Culés be obsessed with Jose Mourinho when we have the most successful manager of the past five years in Pep Guardiola? We don’t like Jose, but by all means are we obsessed! Right now, Barcelona fans are more worried about the team’s inconsistent play recently rather than anything to do with Jose Mourinho.
Real Madrid has fallen on tough times ever since Pep took over at Barcelona. Pep is unbeaten in 13 of 14 matches all-time against Madrid as manager.
To be fair, last year was Mou’s first year with Real, so we can’t count Pep’s wins in 2008-09 (two) and 2009-10 (two). But even with that, Pep is still undefeated in nine of 10 games against Jose Mourinho in all competitions as Real manager. In the same time span (fall 2010-2011), Pep has led his team to five titles to Jose’s one.
Mou has brought Real a solid victory against Pep in the 2011 Copa Del Rey Final. But Madridistas and the Madrid media are not happy with only one victory and it’s understandable. The problem is that it’s reached the point where it’s getting plain old pathetic and the media are looking for any kind of victory against Pep and Barça.
Real Madrid has been playing tremendous football. Are Madridistas not happy with a seven-point lead in La Liga? I’m sure Madrid fans are, but it doesn’t seem the Madrid media are.
Some people will say that I must be obsessed with Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid and the Madrid media because I dedicated an entire article to them. Sorry, but the truth is, I could care less about Mou, Real Madrid and the Madrid media.
Some people will say I am being as biased as the Madrid media. This is not correct. While I am defending Barcelona and Culés, if you've read my previous articles, you know that I've always been fair to Real and their fans. Of course I mock Real at times, but that’s just part of the rivalry. I’ve always respected Madrid fans. It’s the Madrid media I can’t stand.
The only time I truly think about Jose Mourinho is when Barcelona plays Real or if Mou says something degrading towards Barça. The reason I wrote this article is to show how the Madrid media is obsessed with all things Barcelona. Perhaps they don’t see that it is them who are obsessed and not Culés. Maybe they are in denial. It’s truly sad.
The drama of all this is very similar to politics in Spain. Conservative Madrid has always had a fixation with knocking all things liberal Catalonia, and vice versa. This is one of the reasons why this rivalry has more meaning than any other rivalry in world football.
To me, it’s just plain old sad how bad Madrid are obsessed with Barcelona, Pep Guardiola and beating Barça. They need to worry about if their head coach is going to leave after this year, as well as the apparent rift between him and some of the players.
Stop paying so much attention to Barcelona, Madrid. Do you first.
Personally, I hope Mou doesn’t go anywhere. I want him to stay at Real because he has brought a dynamic to the rivalry that arguably hasn’t been there since Luis Figo: deep disgust for an individual rival. But I wouldn’t be shocked it Jose looks towards England for a new challenge. Mourinho has stated that he has unfinished business in England, and with the England national team manager job opening up, I wouldn’t be shocked if Mou left Madrid sooner rather than later.
So continue to write anti-Culé, “we beat Barcelona” and “Mourinho is the most popular coach” madness, Madrid media. I wouldn’t expect anything else. Whatever makes you feel better. Sure, we don’t like Mou and we do read news about him, but by no means are we obsessed with him.
Our obsession is winning and winning titles.
And by the looks of things, FC Barcelona is pretty good at satisfying our obsession. Just look at how many titles our coach has brought us in his tenure and look at how many your “valuable coach” has brought you. Pep is not bad for a coach that isn’t as popular, isn’t as Internet searched or doesn’t get paid as much as Mourinho, right Madrid?
Jose may be more valuable as far as salary—maybe even in popularity—but Guardiola is more valuable in wins.
You can have the coach who is paid the most and has more Google searches. I’d rather have the coach that wins the most and consistently beats his rival.
Personally, I find value in wins and in titles. So to me, Pep Guardiola is truly the most valuable coach in the world. Just look at the picture above. Pep has been very valuable to FC Barcelona, and the playing style he teaches has been valuable and has revolutionary to world football.
But that’s just my opinion. I’m obsessed with Pep, remember.
Visca el Barça!
Thanks for reading. Follow me on twitter: @XoelCardenas
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