Mourinho 'is a crybaby' says rival coach after Real's written protest

Jose Mourinho was labelled a "crybaby" by the Valencia coach Unai Emery yesterday following his criticism of the match referee after Real Madrid's scrappy 1-0 home win over Seville on Sunday.

The Real coach waved a piece of paper listing 13 supposed errors by Carlos Clos Gomez after the game.

"Mourinho's stance is that of a crybaby," said Emery. "We have reasons to draw up a list with errors and to make a public complaint for every time we have been adversely affected, but we don't."

Mourinho complained that the club needed to back him more by speaking out against perceived refereeing injustices. "My team needs to be defended," he said. "If I say what I think, I will be on the front pages and suspended. There is a club and a structure and I want them to defend my team from there."

The Athletic Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros described Mourinho's complaints as a strategy. "I don't take any notice of it," he said. "It's all part of the world of football. I am sure that Seville will be preparing 20 points on the refereeing."

After the match, Seville president Jose Maria del Nido said: "The pressure they [Real] put on the referee can be seen by the whole of Spain. It is a pre-meditated, coached and designed tactic but we already know what it is to play at the Bernabeu."

The victory kept Real two points behind leaders Barcelona after 16 matches following the champions' 5-1 destruction of city rivals Espanyol 5-1 on Saturday.

Barcelona and Bilbao, the two most successful teams in the history of the Copa del Rey, will meet this evening in the round of 16 in a repeat of the 2009 final.

Barcelona won the final two years ago to claim a record 25th Copa title, two more than Bilbao. Also tonight, Valencia and Villarreal meet in a provincial derby.

Barcelona will look to maintain its excellent form against the Basque side. Guardiola's team has won 10 straight in all competitions, outscoring its opponents 42-4.

"We have to try to not be disheartened by Barcelona's numbers and how they are earning them," Bilbao coach Joaquin Caparros said. "We can all agree that we are seeing the best team in recent years or in history."

At the Mestalla, Valencia and Villarreal will deploy two of the best striking duos in Spain. Villarreal's Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi have combined for 19 goals in the league, while Valencia's Roberto Soldado and Aritz Aduriz have 11.

Both sides are having good seasons, with Villarreal in third place and Valencia in fourth. The two teams drew 1-1 in the league last month in a physical contest. "We will go out to play a game with a lot of character with the attacking mindset that this team has," Valencia coach Unai Emery said. "It is a derby in a competition that is exciting for both teams, and the fixture will be a challenge."

Tomorrow Real host Levante and Atletico Madrid play Espanyol. Levante held Real to a scoreless draw at home in September, but Mourinho's team has won every match at the Bernabeu this season and will have every star player available except for the injured Gonzalo Higuain.

Levante will be hoping that striker Felipe Caicedo, who has scored in the last three games and has seven goals for the season, can play after he underwent medical tests on his ankle to miss yesterday's training with his teammates.