Mourinho Sets His Sights On Becoming The 'Only One'
During his last season at Chelsea it was all about eggs and omelettes for Jose Mourinho and now at Real Madrid it is all about the three black sheep. Despite all of this, the self styled Special One or indeed the Only One as he prefers to be known now is looking at an unprecedented third Champions League with a third different club as the end of the season approaches.
Real Madrid may be on the brink of their holy grail - La Decima - yet should this be achieved it may well be overshadowed by the reaction of their manager who as we all know enjoys nothing more than winning a Champions League trophy only to throw his medal into the crowd and subsequently leave the club for pastures new.
Before all of this has a chance of occurring, Mourinho and his men must firstly get past the only unbeaten team left in the competition and the club who managed not only to score twice at the Bernabeu in the group stages but also to top the so called group of death by taking four points from Los Blancos.
Armed with players such as Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze, Borussia Dortmund are certainly not a team to be taken lightly. Jurgen Klopp has the luxury of naming a full strength side for the tie, with Mats Hummels having recovered from a recent hamstring injury. While Mourinho may be thankful he avoided a semi-final showdown with Bayern Munich, he is all too aware of the threat Dortmund pose.
Much is riding on the semi final for Mourinho especially given the league trophy was half way back to CataluÑa by the winter break and the dissenting voices in both the squad and the Spanish press have grown ever louder. Somewhat ironically Dortmund are facing a similar make or break their season tie with Bayern Munich already crowned German Champions and the domestic cup long gone for Klopp s men.
There is also the uncertainty surrounding the future of not only Mourinho but Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso to contend with and that is not even touching the surface of the rebel s such as Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos. Even more intriguingly, Dortmund face again a similar situation with Lewandowski set to depart the club if not this season then the next and Mario Gotze having already agreed to join Bayern - hardly the ideal preparation before such a monumental game.
Cristiano Ronaldo may claim to still owe Real Madrid a final but that will be no small task this Wednesday night. To go and score a goal let alone win at the Signal Iduna Park is something very few teams have managed to do this season and given the rate at which Real Madrid concede goals regardless of who is in between the posts, the club will look to take at least one goal back as insurance for the return leg in a week s time.
A showpiece final for the victors at the home of English football awaits and with stars such as Marco Reus and Cristiano Ronaldo on show it may not be the tie of the Champions but it is one that the world will be watching.
Known for his headline making quotes, Jose Mourinho once claimed that There s a history made up by each of us, that leads us to that final victory. It s that history, in it s entirety, that turns us into champions. Should he lead Real Madrid to a showpiece final at Wembley, Mourinho will write his name into the history books and what better way for him to open his press conference upon a return to Chelsea by claiming I am not being arrogant but I am The Only One?
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