Mourinho 'will not make apology' after latest run-in with Barça

Jose Mourinho is not going to apologise for his behaviour during his team's 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup last week, his spokesman said yesterday.

Eladio Parames told Spanish newspaper El Mundo that "Jose will not ask for forgiveness; he firmly believes that he was defending the interests of Real Madrid".

The Portuguese coach poked a finger in the eye of Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova after a wild tackle by Marcelo on Barcelona newcomer Cesc Fabregas sparked a scuffle between the two sides at Barça's Nou Camp stadium.

Mourinho was also seen making gestures towards Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Daniel Alves. He later made a derogatory remark about Vilanova in the post-game news conference and accused Barcelona's ball boys of time wasting.

Parames said that the former Porto, Chelsea and Internazionale coach has not been swayed by the criticism he has received in both the foreign and local media: "[Mourinho] doesn't care what the press says, he only cares about what Madrid's fans think."

Last season, Madrid and Barcelona played four matches in 18 days in April, which were marked by fights, diving and accusations of feigned injuries. Mourinho was banned for five games for alleging that referees and the game's governing body Uefa favoured Barcelona.

Neither club played this weekend after the first week of the Spanish league was delayed due to a strike by players seeking a new collective bargaining deal with improved salary guarantees.

In Germany a superb performance from Arjen Robben helped Bayern Munich crush Hamburg 5-0 on Saturday, while champions Borussia Dortmund struggled to beat Nuremberg 2-0. Robben scored one goal and set up another for Daniel van Buyten; Franck Ribéry, Mario Gomez and Ivica Olic were also on target as the hosts kept a clean sheet for the third straight game in all competitions. REUTERS