According to Varzesh3, This is a statement that will surprise the Barcelonistas: the former Barcelona star praised José Mourinho on the eve of El Clásico.

Jordi Alba shocked the Barcelonistas by praising the rival coach, but when it came to the match result, he had no hesitation in backing his former team and predicted a 4–1 win for Barça.

Jordi Alba , who for years was one of the important figures of Barcelona , spoke on the eve of tonight's El Clásico about José Mourinho, the current head coach of Real Madrid, and despite years of rivalry and conflict between the two teams, openly praised the Portuguese coach.

In a conversation with AS on the sidelines of an event hosted by Airbnb and La Liga in Portomingo, Alba went back to his memories of facing Mourinho and reviewed them. During his time at Valencia he faced Mourinho's teams several times, and later, in a Barcelona shirt, he also stood against the Portuguese coach many times.

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He said of Mourinho: "I faced him several times when I played for Valencia. Those El Clásicos were extraordinary matches too — of course, that applies to all El Clásicos, regardless of who plays or coaches in the two teams; El Clásico is always big and special. Mourinho has a special character. He is a coach I admire — both for the style of play of his teams and for the way he connects with players."

Alba, who stressed that he does not know Mourinho personally, continued: "I think he is an extraordinary coach who has been able to take every team he has led to the highest level."

The Barcelonistas should not be too sensitive. Praising Mourinho in no way means Alba supports Real Madrid in El Clásico. The former Barça defender even confidently predicted a big win for his former team, saying: "When I see how Barça are playing now, to be honest, I am very calm and not worried at all."

He went on to predict that Barcelona would beat Real Madrid 4–1. Alba's confidence in Barcelona goes back to this team's displays since the start of the season — although the recent defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League has somewhat dimmed the brilliance of this team's results. Nevertheless, in the view of the former Barça star, Flick's team still has the quality and ability needed to beat their traditional rival.

Source: Varzesh3