Football opinion

With such a squad at his disposal, JOE believes the Special One should have done much better against Barca over the two legs.

By Tom Moss

Sprawled across the crisp linen of his luxury hotel bed after the final whistle signalled the end of his Champions League quest for another year, even the egotistical Jose Mourinho, the self-appointed Special One must have been re-examining his own opinion of himself.

He won't admit it, and will instead cover his failures up with the usual vitriolic condemnation of the referee, UEFA and Shep the Dog, but deep down he'll know. He'll be all too aware that he got it wrong again, and that in a two-way contest to achieve top-spot in Spain and perhaps even Europe, he is a distant second.

Mourinho has the credentials and history to back up his lofty self-analysis of his abilities, but you can't rely on the past successes forever.

Never one to show weakness, any suggestion of tactical error will be derided and dismissed out of hand by the brooding Portuguese sulk. Mourinho has the credentials and history to back up his lofty self-analysis of his abilities, but you can't rely on the past successes forever.

The capture Real Madrid's first Copa del Rey since 1993 shouldn't be totally dismissed, but in the grand scheme of things it won't count for much and in perhaps the most cut-throat of leagues in which to ply your managerial prowess, the Special One might just be looking over his shoulder on the look-out for sharpening Madrid knives.

Short-lived Copa del Rey celebrations

Last night's clash was a huge improvement on the porridge served up in the recent series of El Clasicos, and there can be no doubt that the better team won. But I can't be the only one who thinks that the Real squad at Mourinho's disposal is considerably better than Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barca.

His [Mourinho's] once unparalleled reputation has now been matched and surpassed.

Sure, Barca have their superstars, but if I had to pick between the two squads, I'd go for Real's. Mourinho has to accept a huge chunk of the blame when the finger pointing begins in earnest in the coming days. Predictable, rigid and ill-conceived tactical ideas along with out-of-position, disjointed and individually-minded players have been the signature of Mourinho's recent form, and his once unparalleled reputation has now been matched and surpassed.

Many see Mourinho as a possible replacement for Sir Alex whenever the United boss decides to call it a day, and how Jose would have loved a crack at Schalke in the semis and leave United to try to take care of Barca.

The Germans arrive at old Trafford tonight with as good a shot at victory as Jedward have in the Eurovision. In fact, and this is in no way meant to undermine my burning hatred of the high-haired freakshows, after seeing the first leg in Gelsenkirchen last week, I actually think I'd prefer to witness the twisted Dubliners prance around the stage singing about lipstick, handbags and incestuous carnal relations with your twin brother.

The performance, if that's what you could classify it as, of Schalke in front of their own fans last week was nothing short of abysmal, and although you can't imagine a professional and mildly successful club repeating that level of absolute piss two weeks running, there is little to suggest that tonight's game will be in any way different.

The starting XI that United field should be considerably weaker than that named by Ferguson last week, and with one eye already focussed intently on the monumental weekend clash with Chelsea it is highly likely that Sir Alex will bring in several fringe players. Let's be honest, the way Schalke played last week he could field his under-16 reserve side and still ease to the final.