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| Bedlam! An empty Dinamo Zagreb statement went berserk after a dramatic comeback win over Spurs on Thursday. (Photo credit: BT Sports) |
Dazed Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho accused his players of not respecting their jobs after his side crashed out of the Europa League following a 3-2 aggregate defeat by Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.
Leading 2-0 from the first leg in north London, Tottenham were
overwhelming favorites to reach the quarterfinals but produced a tepid
performance as Zagreb stormed back with a sensational hat trick by Mislav
Orsic.
Coming after his side were heavily criticized for a poor
performance in Sunday's north London derby loss at Arsenal, Mourinho
suffered one of the most chastening defeats of his glittering managerial career.
While Orsic's hat trick, completed early in extra time, was world
class, Tottenham's performance was feeble in the extreme and they capitulated
after half-time.
"If I forget the last 10 minutes of the extra time where we
did something to get a different result, in the 90 minutes and the first half
of extra time I saw one team left everything on the pitch, they left sweat,
they left energy, they left blood and in the end they left tears of
happiness," a grim-faced Mourinho told BT Sport.
"On the other side my team, and I am there, didn't look like
it was playing an important match and if for any of them it's not an important
match for me it is, for the respect that I have for my career and my own
job."
It was only the third time that Champions League-winning manager
Mourinho had lost a match in a European competition by a three-goal margin and
the second with Spurs after last season's Champions League drubbing by RB
Leipzig.
He also suffered a three-goal defeat against Borussia
Dortmund while at Real Madrid, but this crazy night of shame thumps
every other one.
Tottenham great Glenn Hoddle, a pundit for BT Sport, described the
display as "diabolical" adding: "They lost the plot but they
also lost their heart."
Mourinho said he was beyond sad at Tottenham's exit from a
competition in which he had earmarked as a route to silverware and the
Champions League.
"I just left the Dinamo dressing room where I went to praise
them and I feel sorry that one team, that is not my team, won the game based on
attitude and compromise.
"I feel sorry that my team is the team that didn't bring to
the game not just the basics of football but the basics of life which is to
respect our jobs and to give everything."
Tottenham's season is now in danger of unravelling.
They are eighth in the Premier League ahead of Sunday's game
against Aston Villa and while they are in the Carabao Cup final, few
will fancy their chances against Manchester City.
Mourinho was hired to replace Mauricio Pochettino because of his
record of claiming trophies.
But after Thursday's surrender, the winning mentality the club's
owners hopes he would instill looks as far away as ever.
Meanwhile, Dinamo's win set off celebrations in Zagreb where
several hundred supporters defied Croatia's COVID-19 as they flocked the
streets in cars and on foot.
Footage published by the online edition of Croatia's daily
Sportske Novosti showed fans congregating around Maksimir stadium.
A seemingly endless motorcade in downtown Zagreb was accompanied
by fans setting off flares and fireworks after Dinamo pulled off the biggest
shock in Europe's second-tier competition this season.
Speaking after the match, Orsic heaped praise on his teammates as
goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic produced a pair of vital saves late on
to deny Tottenham squeezing through on away goals.
"I think everyone is a hero tonight because we all breathed
as one in an unforgettable match," Orsic told reporters.
"We were gutted after the 2-0 defeat in London because we
felt we had it in us to do better and we couldn't put a foot wrong tonight. It
was a dream come true.
"We showed that we are capable of standing our ground against
a high-level team and if we stay humble and avoid getting carried away we can
do more big things in the Europa League."
The outcome was also a dream debut
for coach Damir Krznar after he took over on Monday from Zoran Mamic who
stepped down after learning he faced a prison sentence of four years and eight
months for fraud.
Krznar, who was Mamic's assistant, stressed the perfect timing of
Dinamo's goals and said his former boss must be given credit for selfless work
which laid the foundations to Dinamo's success.
"It panned out ideally because scoring in the opening 15-20
minutes might have amounted to taunting the lion," said Krznar.
"This was my first game in charge but tonight's result is a
product of the staff's work in the last two or three years and the constant
progress we've made.
"Zoran was in charge but he kept his head down and always
credited the staff, never himself. We are a compact unit with a lot of positive
energy."
