Barcelona director happy to see Mourinho back at Real Madrid: ‘One of the best coaches in history’

Barcelona director happy to see Mourinho back at Real Madrid: ‘One of the best coaches in history’ During his appearance at the Portugal Football Summit, organised by the Portuguese Football Federation, FC Barcelona sporting director Deco hailed Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho as ‘one of the best coaches in history’. The 49-year-old former midfielder played under Mourinho at FC Porto, making over 100 appearances and winning several trophies, including the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Deco happy to see Mourinho at Real Madrid Addressing the media, the Barcelona sporting director insisted that he was happy to see his former mentor being back in La Liga, even if it was at a rival club. “It’s good to have him in the Spanish League, as an opponent he’s more complicated, but I’m happy,” said Deco, as quoted by AS . Deco previously played under Mourinho at Porto. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) Praising Mourinho as well as hailing Real Madrid as one of the best clubs in the world, the Barça sporting director added: “I’m happy for him, because I think he’s one of the best coaches in history, he’s at Real Madrid, with the best clubs in the world, it’s good, it’s a great challenge for everyone.” On Real Madrid’s refereeing complaints During the interaction, Deco was also asked for his thoughts about the refereeing in La Liga and the complaints being made by Mourinho and Real Madrid , especially after their recent 2-1 derby defeat to Atletico Madrid. Instead of directly addressing the matter, the Barça director insisted that they were only focused on themselves, while stating that the referees and the VAR are bound to make some mistakes every now and then. “It doesn’t worry us. I think we have to look at ourselves,” he said. Mourinho has aired his displeasure with the refereeing in La Liga. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) “Obviously, there will always be controversial refereeing decisions, there will always be favorable decisions, sometimes for one team and sometimes for the other, and sometimes I don’t think it’s proportional.” Continuing, he added: “I think it’s something that referees lose; it can happen at any time. There’s VAR, which came to correct many things, but at the same time, sometimes it doesn’t. “In short, controversial refereeing decisions will continue to exist; it’s a historical thing in Spain, in Italy, and everywhere. In short, we’re not going to be the ones to end up changing this. “I think transparency, that things are clear, is always important, but I don’t get involved in that. We at Barcelona look at ourselves. We’re always going to do what’s within our reach, try to improve every day. I can’t comment on what happens on the other side.”