Joyous Jose in keeper bust-up
Published 00:08 29/04/10 By Oliver Holt
Jose Mourinho was involved in an amazing bust-up with Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes last night as his Inter Milan side fought its way through to the Champions League Final in a turbulent tie at the Nou Camp.
Mourinho called the 1-0 loss “the most beautiful defeat of my life” but it was marred by his clash with Valdes which happened as he charged across the pitch at the final whistle to salute Inter fans celebrating reaching the Champions League Final with a 3-2 aggregate win.
The Special One was intercepted by a furious Valdes, who grabbed him and wrapped him in a bear hug to try to prevent him waving at supporters high in the top tier of the stadium.
Mourinho eventually wrestled himself free from the grip of the keeper, who was then confronted by a group of Inter Milan players.
The Barcelona supporters hurled a fusillade of missiles at the former Chelsea boss as he tried to applaud his club’s supporters.
Then, as Mourinho and his players cavorted on the pitch in front of their fans, Barcelona turned on four sprinkler jets and drenched them.
“I was celebrating with my fans,” Mourinho said of the Valdes incident later. “It is my right to do that. They are my fans. It is not a problem.”
Mourinho had been taunted and barracked by Barcelona supporters who regard him as a hated foe since he and Inter arrived in the city on Tuesday.
He also claimed fans had thrown fireworks at the team hotel at 4am yesterday and police had arrived at the hotel on the day of the match to question striker Samuel Eto’o on tax matters.
But even though Inter had to play nearly three quarters of the match with 10 men after midfielder Thiago Motta was harshly sent off in the first half, the Italian champions hung on.
Barcelona needed a 2-0 win to go through but they could only manage a late effort from defender Gerard Pique. They thought they had equalised in the dying minutes when Bojan blasted home but his effort was ruled out for an earlier handball.
If Inter beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Madrid on May 22, Mourinho will become only the third manager in history to win the trophy with two different teams.
