Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Mourinho's Coaching a Tactical Nightmare

As I watched Messi gallop through four defenders before sliding the ball past a helpless Iker Casillas, I could not believe my luck.  As a converted Barcelona fan, I was thrilled that my team would be heading to home to the Nou Camp for the second leg of the Champions League with a two-goal aggregate lead.  Furthermore, Madrid will have to field a significantly weakened squad due to the disciplinary absences of Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Arbeloa while Andres Iniesta returns from injury to take his rightful place in the Barcelona midfield.

Yet, after thanking my lucky stars, I realized I was more surprised by Real’s poor performance than impressed by Barcelona’s marvelous display.

Only 11 days ago, Real Madrid managed to convert an imminent 1-0 loss into a 1-1 draw despite playing with only 10 men for most of the second half.

One week ago, Madrid once again withstood Barcelona’s pass-happy attack before countering with a brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo overtime header to secure the Copa del Rey trophy for the first time in nearly two decades.

This past Saturday, Real fielded what amounted to a reserve squad against Valencia, the third best team in La Liga and raced out to 6-1 lead before allowing to consolation goals.

Today, Madrid returned home brimming with confidence and eager to crush their humbled arch-rivals in pursuit of the club’s first Champions’ League since 2002.

What went wrong?

I won’t claim to be as enlightened as the self-appointed "Chosen One," but I must admit that the Madrid Boss’ decision to field an ultra-defensive lineup seems quite puzzling.  Specifically, Mourinho started two defensive midfielders, Xabi Alonso and Lass, and a center half, Pepe, in his central midfield.  With four defenders on his back line, only Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil were inserted into attacking positions.

Perhaps in a contest where the ultimate outcome was determined by the result of a single game, this strategy would have made sense.

In the 2010, Champions League semifinal, Mourinho successfully employed this strategy while managing Inter Milan.  After winning the first leg in Milan 3-1, Mourinho’s Inter could be guaranteed a place in the Champions League Final if they could prevent Barcelona from scoring two goals.  Fielding a massively defensive lineup which mustered only a single shot, his side successfully bunkered deeply into its own half allowing only a single goal to Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. 

Mourinho’s selection for the Copa del Rey final was similarly defensive with only Ronaldo, Di Maria and Ozil in advanced positions.  Allowing Barcelona to once again dominate possession, Madrid only appeared willing to counter by sending three or four players forward.  Realizing his cautious approach would limit the number of scoring opportunities for both sides, Mourinho would have likely been content with a draw, even after extra time. 

With arguably the best goal keeper in the world in Casillas, Madrid would certainly have certainly had the advantage heading into a shootout.  Nevertheless, Di Maria and Ronaldo along with left back Marcelo vindicated Mourinho’s approach by combining beautifully through a quick counter which ended with Ronaldo’s header whizzing past the outstretched right palm of Barcelona keeper Jose Manuel Pinto.

However, with the ultimate outcome of the Barcelona/Madrid semifinal tie to be decided by the second leg at the Nou Camp, one would expect Mourinho to channel his side’s excellent recent form and home-field advantage into earning a positive result.  Capturing a win in the first tie would force Barcelona to take the initiative in the second leg and afford Mourinho the luxury of employing his Catenaccio tactics.

Yet, perhaps encouraged by his team’s excellent defensive performance against Barcelona in the previous two ties, Mourinho seemed content preserving a 0-0 draw for most of the match before briefly searching for a late winner.

“We had the intention to keep the game at 0-0, then bring on a striker, then a third phase with a No. 10 behind three forwards. But the ref didn't allow it.''

Though Mourinho is right that the referee’s decision to award Pepe a red card undoubtedly influenced the outcome of the game, why was he waiting so long to attack?

Surely he remembers to the first leg of his semi-finals clash with Barcelona last season.  Fielding an offensive lineup featuring Goran Pandev, Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o up top with Wesley Sneijder playing the behind the front line in the No. 10 position, Inter allowed Barcelona to score through Pedro within the first 20 minutes of the game.  However, his talented squad continued to press forward and proceeded to score three unanswered goals.

Considering Ronaldo, Di Maria, Ozil and the currently healthy Kaka represent an even more formidable attacking quartet than Inter’s 2010 treble-winning forwards, I cannot understand why Mourinho refused to send his troops forward.  Did the Madrid Boss really think he could win 1-0 at the Bernebeu and preserve an aggregate lead against a Barcelona squad that has lost once and conceded only 12 goals in 26 games at the Nou Camp this season?

In case you forgot, Real’s first trip to Catalonia this season ended in a humiliating 5-0 defeat.

Certainly remembering the worst defeat of his career, the characteristically deceptive Mourinho conceded that his side has already been eliminated, and Barcelona has qualified for the final.  Though he is undoubtedly masterminding a plan which, if successful, would amount to one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history, I suspect his side have fallen too far behind to catch Pep Guardiola’s mighty Barcelona.