From Damien Duff to Courtois: will Mourinho repeat his famous trick against Barcelona?

Will Courtois be Mourinho's new Damien Duff?

Sunday's El Clasico began with a thrilling surprise. Real Madrid announced that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois would not travel to Barcelona, ruling him out of the fixture with a bout of flu.

As the hours passed, talk at Real Madrid grew louder over the possibility of the Belgian turning up at the Spotify Camp Nou after all.

Reports suggest Courtois's condition has improved considerably. There is now a chance he could travel to Barcelona on his own, pull on his gloves and take part in El Clasico.

The newspaper Sport recalled that Mourinho often orchestrated controversy. One such episode unfolded during a match between his team and Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

That game was the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in 2004-2005. It took place on 23 February 2005, and a day earlier Mourinho lied in his press conference when asked about the fitness of Irish forward Damien Duff, one of Chelsea's most prominent players at the time.

The Portuguese coach ruled the Irishman out of the match. He even went as far as announcing the line-ups of both Barcelona and his own Chelsea side, as well as naming the referee.

Yet Duff appeared in the Blues' starting line-up minutes before kick-off the following day, in place of Gudjohnsen.

Duff himself explained on several occasions that Mourinho fabricated his absence, and that the manager had invented injuries to his players more than once before.

That match finished 2-1 to Barcelona, thanks to goals from Maxi Lopez and Samuel Eto'o. Drogba was sent off, and Mourinho vented his deep displeasure in the post-match press conference.

The second leg brought no repeat. Chelsea won 4-2 to knock out Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona.