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"Barcelona" defender Gerard Pique believes that former Real Madrid coach got too caught up in the war of words and tried to transfer the sports rivalry between the two strongest football clubs in Spain to the media. According to the footballer, Jose Mourinho often indulged in controversial statements while interacting with journalists and this hindered his team from focusing and fully dedicating themselves to the most important work - football. "This is a fierce sporting rivalry, but it's just football," Pique spoke about the clashes between Barcelona and Real Madrid. "Mourinho transferred this rivalry to press conferences. He simply forgot that in football, winners are determined on the pitch, where they must win with the weapons they have." As the Barcelona defender claims, such things have not happened in Spain so far: "Mourinho just wanted to lead the media." Pique was supported by his teammates at the Catalan club and the Spanish national team. "I think Mourinho damaged the reputation of Spanish football. His presence here did more harm than good," said Andres Iniesta. "I don't want people to think that I constantly criticize Mourinho, but I didn't like how his team played. During the times of Zinedine Zidane and Roberto Carlos, Real Madrid was incredibly good. They dominated the whole field and that needs to be recognized. That team was just as great as the famous 'Quinta de Butre' team. However, no big club can play the way Mourinho's Real did," Xavi insisted.
