JOSE MOURINHO’S Bernabeu reign is drawing to a “sad” close as Real Madrid go into the Copa del Rey final in turmoil.
The Real boss lost his La Liga title on Saturday as Madrid’s draw at Espanyol saw Barcelona crowned champions before their trip to Atletico Madrid last night.
And Mourinho’s reign will end in ignominy before his return to Chelsea.
Whether or not his team beat Atletico in Friday’s Bernabeu final, Mourinho will leave Real having failed to deliver the one trophy they demanded — the Champions League.
A top source said last week: “Real Madrid had won La Liga 31 times before Mourinho came in.
“Even Bernd Schuster won the championship as manager.
“What Real expected and demanded from Mourinho was La Decima — the 10th European Cup.”
Mourinho dropped trusted lieutenant Pepe from the last two matches after the defender slammed the Special One for publicly insulting Iker Casillas 10 days ago.
Will he play Pepe on Friday given Rafa Varane was injured at Espanyol and is a major doubt?
Stopping Atletico’s star striker Radamel Falcao will take some doing. Will he risk veteran Ricardo Carvalho who has hardly seen action this season?
When Cristiano Ronaldo said he only cared about his own future and Real’s — not Mourinho’s — after the Champions League exit to Borussia Dortmund, the Special One’s reply was astonishing.
He hinted that Ronaldo had not always put the club above himself and all but blamed the winger for Real’s poor start to the season after the star’s famous “I’m sad” remark.
It is the “sad” climax after three years of bickering and petty squabbles at the Bernabeu.
Casillas lost his place not because of his performances but for defying Mourinho and making peace with Barcelona stars who were also key performers for Spain.
Sergio Ramos has been sniping at Mourinho for two years now.
Even Xabi Alonso, who has been his biggest ally in public, did not shield Mourinho on Saturday night.
Asked about Pepe’s outburst, the former Liverpool star said: “Each player expresses his opinion and there is no fear. Nobody tells us what we have to say.”
Real have not lost to Atletico since 1999 and Mourinho has won all eight Madrid derbies since taking charge in 2010.
But Atletico boss Diego Simeone may never have a better chance to end this humiliating record.
Two years ago, Real’s Copa del Rey final victory over Barcelona allowed Mourinho to save face for his embarrassing first season as the Catalans won La Liga and the Champions League.
Mourinho desperately needs this final flourish to do so again.
And this bloke’s even sadder
JORGE JESUS faces a momentous task to resurrect Benfica for Wednesday’s Europa League final against Chelsea after their last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Porto.
The Benfica boss collapsed to his knees — his face contorted in pain and seemingly crying when Kelvin struck the 92nd minute winner on Saturday.
Blues boss Rafa Benitez will owe a huge debt of gratitude to Porto who have left Chelsea’s rivals floored as the result means they have all but surrendered the Portuguese Liga title to their bitter rivals.
Porto now lead Benfica by one point with a game left to play after Jesus’ disciples lost a four-point advantage in their last two games.
Jesus said: “Defeats are all the same but this one cost us a lot emotionally.
“For our team it is a difficult moment as we have a final on Wednesday. This loss has left us profoundly affected.
“We played with a near perfect defensive organisation and conceded an own goal and a second when no one expected it. It feels so bad to lose like that.”
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