poking the eye of a Barcelona coach and calling them 'a small club' - can only be seen as trying to inflame the situation.

We all have a moment of madness in football but you cannot behave the way Jose Mourinho did on Wednesday. 

His actions - poking the eye of a Barcelona coach and calling them 'a small club' - can only be seen as trying to inflame the situation. 

He is setting a bad example to his players.

Flashpoint: Mourinho goes for Barca assistant Vilanova

Real Madrid are following his lead, playing in that aggressive manner and crossing the line. 

Barcelona are frustrating to play but they - and Lionel Messi in particular - are a joy to watch. 

When Mourinho behaves in that way, he is looking for a reaction - and he gets one from his players each time the sides meet. 

But he went down in my estimation.

I can understand how it has come to this, though.

It reminds me of the situation between my Arsenal team and Manchester United from 1998 to 2002. 

We were second best for that period and that causes such frustration. People cross the line - then others follow.

Aggressive tone: Real Madrid are following Mourinho's lead

I had my moment where I lost my temper, jumping on Ruud van Nistelrooy's back at the height of the rivalry. 

It was pure frustration and they then became the same, kicking lumps out of us at Old Trafford the night we won the title there in 2002.

It doesn't make it right, though. 

It's such a shame because Real have closed the gap to Barca. Mourinho has them well drilled but I have never seen him look as serious. 

When Barcelona went in front, all the colour seemed to drain out of his face.

In trying to deal with superior opponents, Real have become too physical and Mourinho has created that behaviour. 

They can't take being second best. 

This is the biggest challenge Mourinho has faced. Everywhere he has gone, he's managed to win at all costs. 

But Barcelona are so good and feel they have to raise their game even higher when they face Real. 

These matches are fascinating but they could do without the Mourinho sideshow. 

Lots of people want Mourinho back in England and I don't think that has changed. I would welcome him back but

Read More

Defeated coach Jose Mourinho jabbing a rival in the eye.

Spain reacted with outrage Thursday after Barcelona's 3-2 Super Cup win over Real Madrid descended into violent scenes with defeated coach Jose Mourinho jabbing a rival in the eye.
Television images and photos on the front pages Thursday showed Mourinho poking his finger into the eye of Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola's assistant Tito Vilanova as players brawled on the field.
"Pito Vilanova? I don't know who this Pito is," Mourinho said after the match.
Television pictures showed the Portuguese coach walking over to Vilanova at the side of the pitch and poking him in the left eye.
Barcelona's Vilanova could then be seen giving a smiling Mourinho a hard slap in the back as he walked away.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique accused Mourinho of wrecking Spanish football.
"Sincerely, Mourinho is destroying Spanish football. Sometimes they say we Catalans are the guilty ones, but the guilty ones are over there in Madrid," he said after the match according to broadcaster RTVE.
"Every game cannot finish like that," he said.
A Lionel Messi double took the European and Spanish champions Barcelona to a 5-4 aggregate win over bitter rivals Real Madrid in their Super Cup second leg clash in the Camp Nou.
But the bad feeling between the two sides boiled over at the end of the match, which ran past midnight and into the early hours of Thursday.
Brazilian Marcelo set off the sparks when he was dismissed for a late challenge on former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, who made his debut towards the end of the game.
In an ensuing brawl on the pitch, Mesut Ozil of Real Madrid and Barcelona's David Villa were also sent off, bringing the red-card total to three.
Fabregas tried to play down the scrap, saying after the match: "It is very competitive football, they are the two greatest clubs in the world, it is a very strong rivalry."
But Guardiola said the violence risked getting out of hand.
"One day someone is going to get hurt and that is what we have to watch out for," he told reporters after the match.
The press lashed out.
"Deplorable Madrid, deplorable Mourinho," blared a headline in Barcelona-based sports daily Mundo Deportivo above pictures of Mourinho's eye-jab.
"Deplorable Mourinho," said the front page of the daily Sport.
"Mourinho and Guardiola's assistant Tito Vilanova were also deplorable protagonists in the final free-for-all. Mou put his finger in the eye of Pep's number two and he replied by slapping the Portuguese on the back," said daily Marca.

 

Read More