SUPPORTERS GIVE MOURINHO THUMBS DOWN FOR 2012
Casillas and Ramos are the best - in opinion of the fans
Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos are the best two Real Madrid players for 2012, according to a survey conducted by
MARCA.com among 30,000 readers.
The fans gave an average rating of 6.9 to both players, with Cristiano Ronaldo coming third with the slightly lower figure of 6.6. Xabi Alonso, Callejón, Özil and Benzema are the other four Madrid players who rated higher than 6, although Pepe came quite close.
There was a long list of players with a rating lower than 5, (Arbeloa, Coentrao, Di María, Essien, Modric, Kaká, Adán, Albiol, Carvalho and Nacho) and this was extended by the addition of manager José Mourinho, to whom the fans gave an average rating of 3.5.
Khedira, Marcelo, Varane, Higuaín and Morata just scraped a pass mark, and the average for the whole squad was 5.1.
82,4% OF
MARCA.COM VOTERS WANT HIM OUT
Fans 'sack' Mourinho
The Real Madrid fans are decided. They want Mourinho out of the Bernabeu dugout. The mediocre results of the season thus far, coupled with the latest Portuguese carry-ons have tried them too much, and the cry of "Enough!" has come up from the ballots.
Benching Casillas for the Málaga game has been the straw that broke the camel's back. The MARCA.com question "Should Real Madrid sack Mourinho?" asked to nearly 100,000 'Vikingos' was met with a resounding "Yes" by 82.4% of them.
Quite clearly, the love affair between the Portuguese and his fans is definitely over, the break up becoming apparent in the King's Cup game agaist Alcoyano, when many supporters booed and jeered their manager, and even shouted over chants in favour of Mourinho coming from other parts of the stadium.
Furthermore, this newfound animosity can be seen in all the major social networks, where comments backing him are being drowned in a sea of protests and criticism. In the cosy Facebook world normally dedicated to the honouring of their great manager, an icy Viking wind blows, now being heard above the traditionally vociferous 'Mourinhists'.
The affront of knocking one of Real Madrid's great symbols off its pedestal - namely its captain Iker Casillas - is for the 'Madridistas' tantamount to declaring war on the club. Mou may or may not have already taken the decision to leave at the end of the season. What is clear is that even if he is not ready to make the jump, there are a great many that would like to see him pushed.