Mourinho picked wrong time and place to announce his departure from Real Madrid

Real Madrid's 10th European Cup will have to wait and so will Jose Mourinho's third. Next season they will continue their quest for the trophy but they will almost certainly do so apart. Madrid reached a third successive semi-final under the Portuguese coach but they could not reach the club's 13th final. Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now Borussia Dortmund have halted them at the gates. And afterwards Mourinho gave the clearest indication yet that he will leave in the summer.

The very fact that he did so was significant. For many in Spain, this was neither the time nor the place; for those that criticise him, and their numbers and intensity grows, this was another reflection of his ego. Just like the fact that he talks of a third European Cup and not a 10th; about “me” not about “we”.

For Mourinho, their response may be explained as another indication that their treatment of him has been unjust. “Here some people hate me,” he said, “and many of you are in this room.”

He was right. At times, the campaign against him has been vicious and some of the criticism absurd. But much of the opprobrium has been earned. The “hypocrisy” he decries – and his definition of hypocrisy is a loose one – has on occasion served mostly to highlight the hypocritical nature of much of his own words and deeds, projecting on to others the very traits he exhibits himself.

Meanwhile, it is not true that they were out to get him from the start: no coach was greeted as the galactico like Mourinho. He was welcomed when he arrived. When he leaves, though, many will bid him good riddance.

Bitterly insisted
Mourinho had rather bitterly insisted before the game that in the eyes of some, success would be the team's but failure would always be his. Yet his discourse is usually the opposite, hung on a simple premise: I win.

When he does not, the void must be filled by something else, the blame carried by someone else, from referees to conspiracies, from bad luck to his players. The latter has at times caused tension within the Madrid dressing room, not least because some have felt that the blame is not evenly or justly distributed among the squad.

The beginning of a division has opened up between fans. Some define themselves almost more as Mourinhista than Madridista, but they argue that is because they can see, as others cannot, that he is what the club needs. That some of the supposed central tenets of Madridismo are nothing of the sort and he best represents the true values of the club: intense competitiveness, the relentless drive to win, a rejection of the media and what it insists are the hidden interests that lie within.

His fraught relationship with Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas, the latter the club's captain, saw them rejected by some fans and championed by others, deepening divisions.

Best interests
Mourinho invented the term "pseudo-Madridistas" to dismiss those that claim to have the best interests of the club at heart but who do not: in practice, a pseudo-Madridista is simply someone who does not agree with him. Even if he has played for the club or supported it from birth. Vicente del Bosque, for instance.

On Tuesday night, Mourinho’s opponents saw his priorities come to the surface. He talked about his achievement in Madrid reaching three semi-finals in three years, when they had previously lost their status as a seed and failed to progress to the quarters five years in a row. But, Mourinho admitted, “almost is not enough for me or for Madrid”.

This is the most expensive squad in history and some expect more. Asked about his future Mourinho initially responded “it is not important, Madrid is important” but soon he was drawn on it. The agenda became about him.

"Mou, why?" asked AS's most volatile columnist, Tomas Roncero, always projected as the voice of the Madrid fan, even as he is rejected by others. "I saw Ramos crying, hugging Casillas and that's when I understood that Madrid is eternal. That's why it hurt me that Mourinho, on the night when we suffered a terrible dagger in the heart, announced that he might go. Then why did he renew his contract until 2016? He complains about a lack of love. In three years he has never understood the greatness of this club."
Guardian Service