Not even the Special One can take credit for Pepe

Another Clásico, another scintillating football match that descended into something entirely different. From the day Mourinho took charge he has focused on the relationship between the two clubs, creating more tension and more of a divide than there has been for a while. The famous siege mentality, an admission that the only way to win is to fight dirty, rather than taking them on at their own game. But aside from a solitary Copa Del Rey, there has been no winning. So what is the point? The only thing he has succeeded in is making the most glamorous fixture in football a showcase for the dark arts. Incessant fouls are often followed by amateur acting, and nobody comes out looking great.

Jose has brought out the worst in some of the more level-headed Madrid players like Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas. Without the Portuguese coach and his psychological warfare, they might go back to being decent human beings. But I’m not sure Mourinho can take credit for everything, Pepe probably behaves like this in the supermarket. The old cliche that “he’s not that kind of player” literally couldn’t apply less. Whether in midfield or defence, his instructions have been the same. Whether these instructions have come from his coach or the voices inside his head though is up for debate.

Wayne Rooney called out Pepe on twitter for his behaviour during the match, and Madrid legend Guti called out Rooney for his hypocrisy. Guti said that “making mistakes is human”, and Pepe has since apologised saying that the stamp was “unintentional” and “the thought of hurting a colleague has never entered my mind”. I assume that when he was banned for 10 games in 2009 after a seemingly unprovoked assault on Getafe’s Casquero, he was ‘unintentionally’ booting him whilst he lay on the floor. His sly stamp on Messi’s hand was despicable and certainly not out of character. He is a pyschopath. His ‘apology’ is shameful. He is probably looking at yet another hefty ban, and rightly so. There is no place for an animal like Pepe in football.