© EuroFootball.com
The passions heat up before the third "El Clasico" - usually calm coach Pep Guardiola openly criticized Real Madrid's head, Jose Mourinho.
This evening, the Madrid team will clash in the first Champions League semi-final match.
Guardiola publicly speculated in the media that Mourinho would be "especially happy" if his compatriot Pedro Proenca refereed the Champions League semi-final match. In fact, the experienced German Wolfgang Stark will be in charge of the match.
Mourinho, in his usual style, separately stated that Guardiola is the first coach to criticize referees for making correct decisions. He referred to Guardiola's doubts about the referee not counting Pedro's goal in the final of the Copa del Rey, even though the video footage showed that the offside was correctly ruled. The Catalan strategist assured that the media misunderstood him.
"If a referee is good, everyone will be happy, except Guardiola. He wants the referees to make mistakes, and I have never seen that in the football world," the Real coach observed.
The Barcelona coach did not hold back.
"Since Mourinho mentioned my name, I will do the same," Guardiola said. "We worked together for four years - I know him, he knows me. That should be the focus. It's a pity when a person you have worked with believes not in what is said to him, but what the newspapers write."
Speaking to the Real coach, he added: "If you think I complain about the referees' work, then I can't do anything about it."
Guardiola promised to settle their differences on the field, not off it: "On Wednesday, we will meet on the field, and off it Mourinho has already won. I give him a personal Champions League trophy for that, he can take it home and enjoy. And we will just go out and play."
