Mourinho says fans’ whistles no issue

Coach faces supporters’ wrath in home win over Bilbao.

MADRID: Jose Mourinho refused to answer questions about a reported rift in the Real Madrid dressing room and said he was not affected by whistling directed at him by some Real fans during Sunday’s 4-1 home win against Athletic Bilbao.        

Real have endured a difficult few days after they lost Wednesday’s King’s Cup quarter-final first leg 2-1 at home to Barcelona and Pepe was accused of deliberately stamping on Lionel Messi’s hand.

Quizzed about Real fans whistling him during Sunday’s game, the former Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan coach said it was the first time it had happened to him in his career but that it was ‘not a problem’.

“There’s a first time for almost everything and it has happened to me,” said Mourinho. “If they whistle me at a club where they don’t whistle anyone, it would be difficult to accept. But at a stadium where they whistle the world’s greatest, who am I not to be whistled at? It’s no problem.

“Zidane responded with his football, Ronaldo did too and Cristiano continues to do so. I will continue working and maybe one day I can respond and maybe one day they will be sad.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2012.