Jose Mourinho takes aim at 'failed sharks of Champions League' after Roma draw with Real Betis – The Warm-Up
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Updated 14/10/2022 at 08:09 GMT
Jose Mourinho was being Jose Mourinho after his Roma side drew with Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday – taking a not-so-subtle dig at some of European football’s powerhouses. Elsewhere, former West Brom forward Andy Carroll went in on former West Brom boss Steve Bruce. And Robert Lewandowski is still sour following the cancellation of the 2020 Ballon d’Or.
'I learned to cry less than I used to cry' - Mourinho on Dybala's injury
FRIDAY'S BIG STORIES
Mourinho’s dig
Roma’s 1-1 draw with Real Betis leaves them on four points in Europa League Group A. They sit third in the group, with Betis on 10 points and Ludogorets on seven. Ergo, Jose Mourinho’s side are in real jeopardy of not progressing to the knockout stages of the competition and dropping into the Europa Conference League.
Betis – as well as topping their Europa League group – sit fifth in La Liga after a fine start to the season and Mourinho was asked after the draw whether the Spanish side were one of the favourites for this year’s competition.
"I see them [Betis] as candidates, but the failed sharks of the Champions League will arrive, and they will come in hard," Mourinho said.
"They shouldn't come but it's the reality. It's going to be fun. The failures of the Champions League."
Mourinho was referring to teams who are set to finish third in the Champions League and drop into the Europa League. Here is a list of teams who are currently sat third in their Champions League group:
- Ajax
- Atletico Madrid
- Barcelona
- Sporting Lisbon
- AC Milan
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Sevilla
- Juventus
This statement has widely been interpreted as a dig at both Juventus and Barcelona, which, the Warm-Up is fully here for.
The above statement comes a matter of days after Mourinho intimated that he had changed his ways. When asked about whether the injury to Paulo Dybala had been caused by the strains the upcoming World Cup has put on players, he said the following:
"Four or five years ago we were talking about it but the fact is that now we have it there," Mourinho began.
"It is only now that we are living with this kind of situation. But I learned to cry less than I used to cry before and to live with reality as it is."
Here the Warm-Up will take the word cry as interchangeable with moan. Mourinho then proceeded to moan about Dybala's injury, which leaves him sweating on a spot with Argentina in Qatar.
"There are the rich, the poor and the less rich," he added.
"The poor play once a week and prepare for one match a week. The rich, with the teams they have, could play every day and still change 10 players. It is the less rich, who are the ones with average ambitions but who have to play the same number of matches as the rich, that are struggling. And the latter is the experience I'm living in this moment."
Andy Carroll takes aim at Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce released Andy Carroll from West Brom over the summer. Andy Carroll went on to re-sign for Reading. The Berkshire club sit fifth in the Championship table with Carroll having scored once in four appearances. West Brom, meanwhile, sacked Bruce as manager with the club languishing in 22nd.
The nine-cap, two-goal England international pulled no punches when addressing the dismissal of Bruce.
"It’s always sad to see people get the sack," he began.
"Especially when we were guaranteed three points at the weekend. It is a shame but that’s football.
"You don’t get the results, it’s a business at the end of the day. That’s why you have to keep the lads together and work hard as a manager and get the lads working hard for you. Everyone is enjoying themselves."
Carroll added - further jabbing at Bruce - that he was shocked to see West Brom in the bottom three.
"I’m surprised," he said. "They’ve got a great squad and a great team. It’s surprising to see them down there but it is the way football is. If they win the next three or four games they’re right back up there."
Lewandowski does not forget
Robert Lewandowski was a shoo-in to win the Ballon d’Or in 2020. Yet, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was cancelled.
It was the first year since 1956 that France Football did not hand out the prestigious individual award. Lionel Messi won it in 2019 and 2021, and while Lewandowski finished second last year, the decision to cancel the award is still a source of frustration if this interview with Movistar is anything to go by.
“Benzema is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or,” began the Polish superstar. “Of course if they don’t cancel it,” he added with a smile, “he is going to win the Ballon d’Or.”
IN THE CHANNELS
Jarrod Bowen is West Ham’s joint-top scorer in European football. Not this season. But ever. He is now level with Johnny Byrne and David Cross on six goals.
He was fairly understated in his post-match interview in the wake of West Ham’s 2-0 win against Anderlecht in the Europa Conference League, saying:
“No, it is good,” began Bowen.
“I want to be on the records, and we want to go far in these European competitions and that helps that.”
HAT-TIP
GQ have run an article titled ‘The New Titans of the World Cup’, and it features quite the insight from Trent Alexander Arnold.
“I never like to play the position, I play the game,” Alexander-Arnold said. “You play the position, it limits you. It’s like playing with shackles on. I’ve always thought that with a sensible mind, play the game, get in positions that will hurt the opposition, and at the same time do the defensive work you need to do. It’s more: play the game how it needs to be played.”
HAT-TIP II
Bukayo Saka scored as Arsenal made it 11 wins from 12 games with victory in their Europa League match against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night inside the Arctic Circle.
And the Hale End graduate has been profiled in Time magazine as his star continues to rise.
Then there’s the fact that he’s rather good at soccer. His 20 goals and 19 assists in 106 Premier League appearances for Arsenal—where he was player of the year for the past two seasons—have cemented Saka’s place as an England regular on the right wing of the pitch. In September, he won the England men’s player of the year award.
COMING UP
The football never stops. After three days of European association football, the weekend of domestic association football begins in earnest as Brentford face Brighton in the Premier League.
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