Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham disgraced in Zagreb

By George Aluo

It was outright humiliation for Tottenham Thursday night in the Croatian city of Zagreb as they were bundled out of the Europa League by Dinamo.

Dinamo who suffered a 2-0 defeat last week in London bounced back in spectacular fashion winning 3-0 at home.

A very angry Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho tongue lashed his players after the game, even as he apologized to fans of the club.

Tottenham’s trip to Zagreb was supposed to be little more than a formality after their two-goal win in last week’s first leg but, four days after losing the north London derby, Spurs produced an anaemic display in perfect contrast to that of their hosts. Mislav Orsic’s magnificent hat-trick crowned a famous win for the Croatian champions.

“I’m disappointed with the difference of attitude between one team and the other,” said Mourinho after the 3-2 aggregate defeat. “I feel sorry that my team – I belong to that team – is the team that didn’t bring to the game not just the basics of football but, I believe, the basics of life, which is to respect our jobs and to give everything.”

“I don’t need external critics because I feel deeply hurt with what happened with my team. I don’t want to say much more than that. On behalf of my team, in spite of some of them maybe not sharing my feelings and emotions, I can only apologise to the Tottenham supporters.”

Mourinho went into the Dinamo’s dressing room after the match to congratulate the hosts on their deserved victory. But he accused his own players of being unprofessional. “[Dinamo] played with a lot of desire. I can also call it professionalism, because for me professionalism starts with the attitude,” said Mourinho, adding he felt “more than sad” that his players “did not look like they were playing in an important match”.