The day Real Madrid held the official presentation of Jose Mourinho without press or fans and two months after his arrival, the Portuguese coach, who until then had only shared his journey at the white club on his social networks and the club’s television, gave an interview to Energy’s program ‘El Chiringuito’, hosted by Josep Pedrerol. Florentino Pérez had already visited their studios in May, after the absurd press conference to announce that he was calling elections and for which he was heavily criticized.
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”I have changed a lot in 13 years. I have the same DNA, but I am less emotional, more controlled. Learning from my mistakes, but never regretting. It makes no sense to do so. The more experiences you have, the better the quality,” the coach starts. “I wouldn’t say I’m more boring,” he added.
Regarding the market, the coach considered the squad closed (”the market is open, but for me it is closed, I like the squad”). And he clarified the issue of Rodri, presented with Barcelona this Tuesday: “I don’t miss Rodri, we have options, quality, players who analyze them for what they have done… I like to think I have the ability to improve players, they can be better.”
“Yes, I spoke twice with Rodri. Real Madrid made him a very good offer, but there were no negotiations with City. Rodri hesitated. I think what happened is that his doubts created doubts in me. He is an extraordinary and very correct player. But Real Madrid has a dimension that cannot have players who think twice. That is the concept. But he was correct,” he argued.
One of Real Madrid’s problems last season was the locker room, with snubs to Xabi Alonso first, then to Álvaro Arbeloa, even the famous fight between Tchouaméni and Valverde at the end of the season. Mourinho admits he has no complaints about the locker room so far. “I found a locker room eager to win. A locker room open to common sense. I haven’t had the chance to be an aggressive leader. They have protected this version because their behavior is impeccable. All the principles I tell them are common sense: arrive early, have breakfast with the nutritionist, go to the gym, do prevention…,” he commented. “We are not free from something happening during the season, which would be normal,” he added.
Mourinho was also asked about some specific names, such as Kylian Mbappé, top scorer but subject to controversy for his attitude last season: ”Mbappé is incredible. He makes me laugh in training, he is too good, the level is stratospheric. I cannot judge what he did last year, it was strange, complicated. In the end, it’s the usual, Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa paid the price. Winning or losing is multifactorial. I don’t accept blame only for some nor the applause. The commitment is this and I think about what Mbappé wants to be now. He could have come on August 14 and he came on the 12th, he already told me something. He wanted to play against Schalke under minimum conditions. And he trains like everyone else.”
“We all have to be more of a team. But the numbers are incredible, also Bellingham. You have to make the best be themselves within the team dynamic. We are on the right track,” he concluded.
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