Mourinho's Real in need of rapid turnaround
Reuters - Sunday 23 December 2012, 11:51
Defeat at Malaga on Saturday has surely dashed any lingering hopes Real
Madrid had of defending their La Liga title and they urgently need to
find their form before Manchester United's Champions League visit on
February 12.
Jose Mourinho's
decision to drop goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas for the 3-2
reverse was still sending out shockwaves on Sunday and the defeat had
left an "insurmountable" gap to make up on unbeaten leaders Barcelona,
according to the Portuguese coach.
Real are 16 points behind Barca after 17 matches and seven adrift of second-placed Atletico Madrid.
When
they return from the Christmas break they need to overturn a 2-1
first-leg deficit at home to Celta Vigo in the last 16 of the King's Cup
and elimination would leave the Champions League as the only
competition they can realistically hope to win this term.
Mourinho
justified benching Casillas by suggesting inexperienced number two
Antonio Adan was on better form than the 31-year-old Spain
international, a fixture between the posts for more than a decade and
hugely popular with the fans.
The
sight of Spain's World Cup and European Championship hero watching
nervously from the sidelines as Malaga beat Real at home for the first
time in almost 30 years will have done little to alter the perception
that all is not well off, as well as on, the pitch.
Mourinho
dismissed a question about whether he feared for his job after the
Malaga reverse which followed last weekend's 2-2 draw at home to
Espanyol.
"If I sense that the players have lost their desire I am too honest to continue in a losing battle," he said.
"But
the players have desire, they showed they still have desire. They
played well enough to win against Espanyol, they played well enough to
win today. They didn't have any luck and things turned out badly."
CALM WATERS
Appearing
at a charity event on Sunday, Casillas attempted to calm the waters and
said the team was more important than any individual player.
"The coach decides who plays," he told broadcaster La Sexta.
"During the week I could tell I wasn't going to play but it wasn't a setback," he added.
"Mourinho
didn't say anything to me, he did not explain anything to me. He
doesn't give me explanations when I play, so when I don't play he
doesn't do so either.
"You have to respect the coach's decision and I have to train a lot more to try to win back confidence."
Sergio
Ramos, another of Real's club captains, expressed surprise at the
omission of his Spain team-mate but urged unity among players and staff.
"It's
not normal or usual to see him on the bench but we have nothing to say
about it, it's a decision for the coach," he told reporters after the
Malaga game.
"Iker is the captain of the team, a leader in the dressing room and a key component for us," he added.
"We are not going to get involved in any controversy. We all have to be in the same boat and row in the same direction.
"Enough seeking controversy where there is none. We all want the same thing."
Despite
the calls for unity from the two club heavyweights, there remains a
sense that Real and Mourinho are teetering on the edge and many coaches
have been sacked for a lot less by the club's impatient presidents.
However,
a morale-boosting Cup comeback against Celta and a decent run in La
Liga would help set the team up for the United tie and a run at the 10th
European title that has eluded them since 2002.