After the official announcement that José Mourinho will be leaving Real Madrid, Spanish newspapers "have roundly accused him of failing at Real Madrid as they jeered his three-year reign at the Bernabeu and his failure to win more silverware," according to the London TELEGRAPH. Marca ran "The Special End" as its front page headline, and AS's said, "Much ado about nothing." The sports daily said, "€50M in contracts and another €162M in player signings. Mourinho left us with few titles and a lot of hassles." El Mundo's Orfeo Suarez wrote, "Thanks, Mou, for making us worse." Barcelona-based sports daily Mundo Deportivo said, "He leaves the Bernabeu having failed, a long way from equaling the balance except for some occasional one-on-one clashes" (TELEGRAPH, 5/21).
FANS: MOU 'INSUFFICIENT': MARCA reported more than 90,000 people voted in a Marca poll asking them to describe Mourinho's tenure. Of eight categories, from "insufficient" to "outstanding," 40% considered Mourinho's efforts insufficient, with 22% considering it "very lacking." Twelve percent "approved" and 6% voted that he was "outstanding" (MARCA, 5/21).
BARCELONA VP CRITICAL: FOOTBALL ESPAÑA reported Barcelona VP Carles Vilarrubi "reacted with relief at seeing Real Madrid announce Mourinho's departure at the end of the season" Vilarrubi: "I said this three years ago through other means and now that he is no longer coach I can repeat what I thought then, that Mourinho would be a scourge on Spanish football. Now he no longer is. Seeing him leave is positive for Spanish football because he did not make for a positive climate" (FOOTBALL ESPAÑA, 5/21).
PÉREZ: 'NOT A FAILURE': FOOTBALL ESPAÑA also reported Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez insisted that Mourinho's tenure was not "a failure." Pérez: "We have reached an agreement with Mourinho to terminate his contract at the end of the season. With Mourinho we have taken a major step forward. Today Real Madrid is in a good place. We wish him luck in his career" (FOOTBALL ESPAÑA, 5/20).
