Mourinho: I was wrong to stick my finger into Vilanova's eye

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has conceded he was wrong to poke current Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova in the eye during a touchline altercation during the Spanish Supercopa last season.

 Occuring during the two-legged competition when Vilanova was then-assistant coach to Pep Guardiola, the incident happened in a tie which Los Merengues went on to lose 5-4 on aggregate.

 Mourinho subsequently had a ban as punishment lifted. The outspoken Portuguese has since admitted he lost control of himself at that moment, but revealed there was no bad blood that existed any longer between the two of them.

 "I should obviously not have done what I did," Mourinho told a press conference while on tour with his club in the United States. "Nevertheless, there was a whole story behind that that made me lose a little control."

 "The one who failed there was me, and I place plenty of emphasis these days on my players just to continue concentrating on games themselves and controlling their emotions.

 "There lie no problems between Tito [Vilanova] and myself. We greeted each other normally in subsequent matches. Thankfully, the story is over and we must just hope to avoid such instances in the future."

 With his thoughts shifting to the season ahead, the 49-year-old was quick to state his objectives of building upon their La Liga triumph by eventually winning the Champions League.

 "Last year, we were only eliminated on penalties in Europe. We're close, and if we keep trying, one day it will happen." The Santiago Bernabeu side crashed out to eventual runners-up Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.

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Barca eye Vermaelen: Arsenal man one of three Prem stars on their hit-list

New Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova will turn his attentions to raiding the Premier League if he fails to land Athletic Bilbao defender Javi Martinez.

 The Spanish giants have Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen, Chelsea's David Luiz, who they were linked with earliert this summer, and Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and on their hit-list if they fail to get Martinez.

 Barca want to sign one top-quality defender this summer, and so far Martinez - who can operate in central defence or midfield - is proving to be too expensive.

 The news will cause despair among Arsenal fans, who are already dreading the sale of captain Robin van Persie this summer.

 Meanwhile, Vermaelen's clubmate Carlos Vela is desperate to join Real Sociedad permanently - but claims the Gunners are driving a hard bargain. 

 The Mexican forward, 23, spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad and would like to join them, but Arsenal are playing hardball over a fee.

 Vela's agent, Eduardo Hernandez, said: "He is very happy at Sociedad, he wants to stay there, but Arsenal are a complicated club to deal with."

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