Di Maria reveals Mourinho’s hard-line tactics for Real Madrid’s clashes with Barcelona

Angel Di Maria has recalled the uncompromising instructions Jose Mourinho gave Real Madrid players as they attempted to stop Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona during the Portuguese manager’s first spell at the club.

The former Argentina winger said Mourinho convinced his squad that physicality was the only way to overcome Barcelona, who dominated possession and caused Real Madrid significant problems during a fiercely contested period between the two rivals.

“Mourinho planted in every Real Madrid player’s mind that the only way to beat Barcelona was to hit them,” Di Maria said in comments carried by Sport.

Barcelona’s control of the ball was particularly evident in a 5-0 victory over Real Madrid at Camp Nou. Di Maria said he had rarely felt so disconnected from a match.

“I don’t think I have played a game in which I touched the ball so little as in that 5-0 at Camp Nou,” he said.

“I was trying to press, but the ball was never where I was going. It was unbelievable.”

Tensions on and off the pitch

Di Maria also discussed the intense atmosphere surrounding a series of meetings between the clubs over a period of no more than 20 days. Those matches included the Copa del Rey final and a Champions League semi-final.

The rivalry was made more striking by the fact that many of the players involved were team-mates with Spain and had enjoyed considerable success together at international level.

“With the national team, everyone was friends and they would easily overcome any team they faced,” Di Maria said. “But when they played against each other, they were exchanging punches.”

He also remembered an incident involving Lionel Messi during the 2011 Copa del Rey final, when Di Maria brought down his Argentina team-mate to stop a Barcelona counter-attack.

“I apologised to him, but if you don’t bring him down, you cannot stop them from scoring,” he said.

The memories have resurfaced before another meeting between Real Madrid and Barcelona, scheduled for Sunday evening in the 10th round of La Liga.

The fixture has attracted particular attention because Mourinho returned to the Real Madrid dugout at the start of the current season, bringing back memories of the highly charged encounters during his first tenure.

Di Maria’s recollections underline the contrast between the players’ close relationships with Spain and the hostility that characterised the Clasico matches of that era. Barcelona’s possession-based approach repeatedly forced Real Madrid to chase the game, while Mourinho sought a more direct and physical response from his players.

The 5-0 defeat at Camp Nou remains central to Di Maria’s account of the difficulty Real Madrid faced in trying to disrupt Guardiola’s side, while the 2011 cup final showed how far players were prepared to go to prevent Barcelona’s attacks.