Iniesta accuses Mourinho of cultivating hatred between Barca and Madrid
Andres Iniesta has pointed his fingers at Jose Mourinho and blamed the Portuguese gaffer for the bitterness that entered the Spanish dressing room after Mourinho became the manager of Los Blancos. In 2011, Mourinho saw himself in the middle of a huge backlash when he poked Tito Vilanova in the eye after Real Madrid lost 2-3 to Barcelona. Read on for details.
The rivalry between Mourinho and Guardiola
Mourinho and Guardiola were pitched against each other when the Portuguese manager was brought in by Real Madrid. Guardiola was managing Barcelona, at that time, and made the side one of the best squads in football history. The rivalry between these two reached another level during this period. Notably, Mourinho ended Guardiola's domination by winning the league in 2011-12 season.
Mourinho had poked Tito Vilanova in the eye
The most shocking thing Mourinho ever did was to poke Barcelona's assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye when Real Madrid lost 2-3 to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup. Moreover, Mourinho refused to apologize after the incident and said all that mattered to him was how Real Madrid fans felt. This created a lot of tension between players of the two clubs.
Iniesta's comments on Mourinho's influence
"You do not have to be from Barcelona or Real Madrid to know that this situation was unpleasant, and the key component in that story was Mourinho," Iniesta said regarding the tension in the Spanish dressing room. "You did not see it as a standard rivalry, it went beyond that. You saw hatred. That environment was cultivated, and it was unbearable", he continued.
Iniesta's comments are absolutely correct
The comments Iniesta made regarding Mourinho are absolutely true, as there was hatred between Real Madrid and Barcelona during the days Mourinho was managing Los Blancos. Mourinho has a long-kept resentment against Barcelona and probably provoked his Real Madrid players to channel this anger on the field. However, this kind of a behavior shouldn't be tolerated especially from someone as gifted as Jose.
