Former Real Madrid player and assistant manager Aitor Karanka has said Jose Mourinho did not dive the Real Madrid squad in his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, but did his best to be successful.
The self-anointed ‘Special One’, is considered by many to have failed in his time in Spain. He has a vast budget at his disposal yet failed in in his mission to win the Champions League. Domestically, although he won the league once in his three seasons, his Los Blancos team was inferior to fierce rivals Barcelona.
During his final season in charge there were many stories about falling out with the club’s senior players, particularly Iker Casillas, who Mourinho benched mid-way through the season.
But talking to Marca, Karanka said every decision made was in the best interest of the club. And he added that the press were too critical of Mourinho and his coaching team.
“No, I don’t think Mourinho divided Madrid,” Karanka stated. “What he did was try to do the best thing at any given time. Everyone talks, for example, about the thing with Iker Casillas. Dropping him wasn’t a decision that was taken overnight. We took our time and decided that it was the best thing for the team at that moment.”
He went on to talk about the mistreatment by the press and the lack of respect given to him.
He said: “I felt mistreated by the Press during my time at Madrid. I’d been a footballer for 15 years and I’d been criticised, I’d been praised. However, a lot of the time with Madrid they weren’t criticisms, but a lack of respect.”
