Jose Mourinho's curious post-match press conference Sunday night came as something of a surprise to the assembled members of the fourth estate, who listened to the Real Madrid coach's diatribe but were given short shrift when it came time to quiz him.
Less surprising than the scene of Mourinho's soliloquy was the target of the Portuguese tactician's ire -- the Bernabeu hierarchy. Few sports clubs in the world have such a complex chain of command. The board alone numbers 17 men. On the sporting side, there is Emilio Butragueno, Miguel Pardezo and Jorge Valdano, all directors of one kind or another and part of the Madrid side of the 1980s made famous by the Quinta del Buitre, or Vulture's Legion. Their main function today seems to be picking over the bones of fallen coaches.
The gist of Mourinho's diatribe, made while waving a piece of Real Madrid stationery with a list of refereeing errors provided by the club, was that he has had enough of being the front man for Florentino Perez's board. Mourinho insinuated that Valdano, the director general, could use his institutional position -- which renders people as close to bulletproof as the Spanish league allows -- to point the finger at referees and soak up the attendant flak. "If I read this list," Mourinho said with an air of despondency, "it will be the same old story: a ban for Mourinho."
Perez has made it a point of honor that Real employees do everything to avoid fostering a victim culture; he is acutely aware that although one of Spain's two most-supported teams, it lacks the popularity among neutrals other clubs enjoy. But although Mourinho is a man who polarizes opinion, Perez is playing a dangerous game if the manager does not feel he is being supported at all levels. That was enough for Mourinho to leave Chelsea, and there is simply no one better suited to the Real job than the Portuguese.
Perez would do well to remember that he has never hired a successful coach at Real. Vicente del Bosque won a haul of trophies during the first years of Perez's first tenure, but del Bosque was installed by Lorenzo Sanz -- and sacked by Perez minutes after delivering a second Liga title in 2003.
Most coaches don't last more than a season at Real. Some, like Jose Antonio Camacho, last just a couple of months. Former Spain coach Camacho, now doing a solid job with unfashionable Osasuna, insinuated to the press that he was not in full charge of picking the team at Real, a rumor Manuel Pellegrini spent most of his one-year stint refuting.
All Perez has to show for the hundreds of millions of investments under his charge is one Spanish Supercup.
When Mourinho arrived, he made it abundantly clear that he would be in charge of team affairs. Although matters on the pitch are undoubtedly Mourinho's remit, the Real coach is one of a long list eyeing the upper echelons of the Bernabeu and wondering just what purpose its bloated board serves. If he were to hand a list of hierarchical errors to them, it might read something like this:
• Failure to buy a traditional No. 9 striker in the summer. Mourinho identified this squad weakness when he arrived in the summer.
• Retaining Karim Benzema. The France striker's transfer value has plummeted and he has scored one league goal this season. In the Camp Nou massacre, Benzema did not manage a shot on goal.
• Allowing Royston Drenthe to go out on loan. In Marcelo's absence against Sevilla, the reason Liverpool were willing to let Alvaro Arbeloa leave was evident.
• Confusion over the role of Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman is on the technical staff for European matches, and his expertise is beyond doubt. But had Mourinho wanted a second number two to complement Aitor Karanka, he would have asked for one.
• In a word -- Portugal. Mourinho was left incensed by the board's refusal to allow him to take charge of his country for European qualifying matches against Denmark and Iceland in October after Carlos Quieroz was sacked. "I do not understand why Real Madrid will not let me coach Portugal when I have almost nothing to do in Madrid," Mourinho, whose first-team squad usually numbers no more than six players during international breaks, told the press.
• Institutional aloofness. Zidane's role, in his own words, to act as "an avenue between the first team and the president" questions Mourinho's own relationship with Perez.
No Real coach has ever won a battle with the board, no matter his on-field achievements. If Mourinho lasts the course of his four-year contract, it might be one of his greatest triumphs yet.