"Kicking is the solution": Di Maria exposes Mourinho's plan to stop Messi and Barcelona
A striking admission about the first term
Ángel Di María has lifted the lid on the instructions José Mourinho drilled into Real Madrid's players as they tried to halt Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, taking himself back to the white heat of those Clasico clashes during the Portuguese's first spell in the Spanish capital.
Looking back on those days in comments carried by Sport, the Argentine said: "Mourinho instilled in the mind of every Real Madrid player that the only way to beat Barcelona was to kick them." Barcelona's five-goal haul laid bare just how badly Madrid struggled.
Facing that Barcelona side was a nightmare. They dominated the ball and left their opponents chasing shadows, never more so than in the 5-0 thrashing Madrid suffered at the Camp Nou.
Di María said of that match: "I don't think I ever played a game in which I touched the ball as little as I did, like that 5-0 at the Camp Nou."
He added: "I was trying to press, but the ball was never where I was going. It was unbelievable."
Clashes despite the friendship: Messi brought down!
Di Maria reflected on the fierce tension that engulfed the clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona across a span of no more than 20 days, a run of decisive meetings between the two sides that stretched from the Copa del Rey final to the Champions League semi-final.
The Argentine remembered the stark contrast between the mood in those games and the bond that united players from both clubs in the Spanish national side. "In the national team, everyone was friends, and they would easily beat any team they faced, but when they played against each other, they would exchange punches," he said.
He also recalled the kick he aimed at Lionel Messi during the 2011 Copa del Rey final, a desperate bid to halt a Barcelona counter-attack.
"I apologised to him, but if you don't bring him down, you won't be able to stop them from scoring the goal," Di Maria said. The remarks resurface as Real Madrid and Barcelona prepare for another clash this Sunday evening in the tenth round of La Liga, with Mourinho back at the helm of the Royal club since the start of the current season.
