Here’s an interesting story currently circulating in the Arsenal Twitterverse, blogosphere, cyberspace and media world. Midfielder Mesut Ozil claims that then Manager Jose Mourinho once called him a coward during their days together at Real Madrid.
The German has a forthcoming autobiography, a portion of which was excerpted in Bild, the nation’s highest circulated daily publication. Mesut Ozil revealed the details of one Mourinho tirade, and describes the specific manner in which he was called out.
“You think two beautiful passes are enough … You think you’re so good that fifty percent is enough. You think you are too nice to tackle,” Mourinho reportedly said.
“Do you know what your tackling looks like? No? I’ll show you.”
Ozil, who definitely harbors no ill will towards Mourinho describes the incident thusly: “He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. And I love Mourinho actually.”
Ozil then gets angry and throws a shirt at Mourinho, leading to the culmination of the tense encounter. The altercation then concludes with Mourinho telling Ozil:
“Oh, are you giving up now? You’re such a coward. What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do.”
There is obviously no bad blood at all between the two men, who enjoyed a fruitful working partnership in the Spanish capital for three years. This confrontation was simply a perfect example of “tough love”.
Mourinho obviously manages Manchester United these days, who battled Ozil and the Gunners to a 1-1 draw at home on November 19th. The return meeting, at the Emirates, will take place on May 6th.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times and NBC Chicago.com, contributes to Chicago Tribune.com, Bold, WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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