Jose Mourinho: Remembering when he ordered Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso to get sent off | OneFootball

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·26 January 2022

Jose Mourinho: Remembering when he ordered Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso to get sent off

Article image:Jose Mourinho: Remembering when he ordered Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso to get sent off

Jose Mourinho recently turned 59 years old.

Although Mourinho has been accused of being past his best several times over the last few years, whether you believe that or not, The Special One will likely join the history books as one of the greatest managers of all time.


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Successful spells at some of football's powerhouses have seen Mourinho pick up a mountain of silverware throughout his managerial career.

Arguably his most impressive feat is from his early days of management when he won the Champions League with outsiders Porto. His success with the Portuguese club is the reason he secured roles at clubs such as Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

But Mourinho has often stirred the pot at many of these clubs, with his occasionally questionable tactics and man-management.

And The Special One has never shied away from the dark arts of the game, often willing to gain a tactical advantage by any means necessary. The ex-Chelsea manager has often happily sacrificed the idea of 'beautiful' football for the sake of results.

Article image:Jose Mourinho: Remembering when he ordered Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso to get sent off

One of the legend's most typical 'Mourinho-style' moments came at Real Madrid back in 2010.

Madrid were in total control during a Champions League match against Ajax, with just minutes left on the clock and the score at 4-0, they were all but guaranteed to qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition. With one group game left to play against Auxerre, Los Blancos were in a strong position.

But as the match was drawing to a close Mourinho could be seen muttering and scheming with his assistant coaches. Before long, he shared his plan with Jerzy Dudek, who ran to Iker Casillas and asked him to inform Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso what Mourinho wanted.

Over the course of the next few minutes, bizarre scenes unfolded as the two players appeared to purposely waste as much time as possible until they were punished.

Alonso hesitated over a free-kick for what seemed like forever until the referee had finally had enough and gave the player his marching orders. Ramos then took a goal-kick for Casillas and did exactly the same thing, also eventually being shown a red card.

But why would the manager appear to order two of his own players to purposely get sent off?

The players in question had already both picked up yellow cards earlier in the match, meaning that if they were booked against Auxerre they would miss the opening game in the knockout stages.

So the ex-Chelsea man decided the best way to get past this awkward situation was for them to both get sent off now, meaning they would miss the Auxerre match but they would definitely be available for the knockout game.

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Article image:Jose Mourinho: Remembering when he ordered Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso to get sent off

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Although at the time The Special One probably thought this was a stroke of genius on his behalf, the plan backfired as it was blatantly obvious to everyone watching exactly what was happening.

All of the players involved and the club itself was punished for the incident. Alonso and Ramos were each fined €20,000, Casillas was fined €10,000 and Jerzy Dudek was fined €5,000. The red cards given to Alonso and Ramos were upheld and Real Madrid were also fined €120,000.

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