When we talk about some of the most controversial figures in the world of football, Jose Mourinho is one name that would feature in most of our lists. Despite being an elite manager with a bag full of trophies, the Portuguese gaffer has often landed himself into trouble. To detail it out, most of them have sparked from Mourinho’s reluctancy to hold back during his press conferences and interviews.
On the other hand, former Italian footballer Antonio Cassano, is also someone who has been termed as a hothead by many due to his ruthless comments on footballing topics over the years. The 40-year-old, who now plies his trade as a pundit, has not been a fan of the former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss currently managing AS Roma. Recently the hatred between the two global icons escalated after Cassano blasted Jose’s preferred style of playing football. He accused the latter of playing obscene football and termed him as a “poor coach.”
“Mourinho won the [Conference League] in Rome, but he’s causing obscene foolishness, havoc, quarrels, expulsions, disasters, players insulted. I don’t want to win anything, I’ve always played to entertain the fans, I don’t give a damn about trophies. He won by playing obscene football, he must understand that he is poor as a coach.”
Being the type of character Mourinho is, one would expect the 60-year-old to come back with a brutal reply and he did. He blasted Cassano for having a mediocre career as a footballer and opined that the latter is only remembered for his jacket in Madrid. Jose also went on to point out how ineffective the Italian was during his time with Roma and Inter.
“In Madrid, he is remembered for his jacket, with Roma he won a Super Cup without playing, in Inter he didn’t even win the Sunday League trophy. You know what I won with Inter, Real Madrid and Rome. He will have a problem with me, I won’t with him. I’ll tell him only one thing, watch out Antonio, you’re 40 and I’m 60.”
If you are thinking that it all ended there, you are wrong. Cassano took the beef to a whole new level with his latest comments which aims to prove Pep Guardiola a better coach than the 2-time Champions League winner. He downgraded that value of Mourinho’s trophy cabinet as he believes that they weren’t won with “real football.”
“Mourinho isn’t even fit to shine Guardiola’s shoes. When he retires, no one will remember him. He’s stuck in time as a coach. I don’t care about which trophies he’s won, he can stick them up his a**. They weren’t won with real football.”
Now if you are wondering why Cassano hates Mourinho so much, we have got you covered. The rivalry between the two men dates back to November 2022 when the Portuguese coach called out one of his Roma players for his lack of loyalty towards the club. The player was Rick Karsdop who the coach was accused of “betraying” his team by the head coach. His comments did not go down well with Cassano who took a major dig at Mourinho for not taking the responsibility for the 1-1 draw against Sassuolo. Speaking to ‘Minuto 90′ program, the player turned pundit labeled the boss’ comments as shameful.
“He never says what doesn’t make the team play well, it’s always someone else’s fault. He’s a coach and he’s been doing nothing for a year and a half. What Mourinho did in the ‘Karsdorp case’ is ignoble, shameful.”
It looks like things are getting worse between the two with every passing day. It is very unlikely that Mourinho would sit back after the former striker’s comparison of the former Madrid boss and Guardiola. But we hope that the situation cools down in the near future and the hatred does not attain an evergreen status between them.
