Mourinho returns with calm words and hard edge as Real reset begins
This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.
Mourinho returns with calm words and hard edge as Real reset begins
Audio By Vocalize
Jose Mourinho
walked into his first Real Madrid press conference three minutes early on
Friday, but the message was deliberate:
commitment is non-negotiable, competition is unavoidable and frustration over
selection decisions will not be tolerated.
Three days after his formal unveiling behind closed
doors, Mourinho faced the media at Real's Valdebebas training complex before
Saturday's LaLiga opener at Espanyol, speaking for more than 40 minutes in a
notably measured tone.
Despite Real entering the season after back-to-back
trophyless campaigns and with pressure mounting on President Florentino Perez,
who recently
secured re-election, Mourinho rejected the idea that the club was gripped by
anxiety.
Instead, he said the
mood was one of anticipation.
"We are tired of playing friendlies. We don't
love football because of friendlies, we are all
eager to jump right back into competitive football," Mourinho said.
"I wouldn't say the feeling here is pressure...
It's more like adrenaline. Which is
positive, that pump. I don't feel pressure. Because I have a lot of confidence
in the work we've put in and in the players' hunger, commitment."
Mourinho repeatedly stressed the importance of
collective responsibility in a squad packed with elite talent, while making
clear that individual ambitions must come second to
the team.
"What we need is to not negotiate things that
are non-negotiable. Commitment is mandatory,"
he said.
"The team must go ahead of personal feelings.
Tomorrow will be the first time the players will have to deal with it.
I can't
start a match with 15 players.
"I don't want easy decisions, that would be
benching a player who got frustrated because he didn't play what he thought he
would. I want to make hard decisions, want players that don't fall into the
trap of frustration. I want players who work harder to earn a spot in the
team."
Mourinho also addressed the challenge of accommodating
Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr in the same
side while maintaining balance.
"I don't think these positions are
incompatible; I'm very confident we're going to have a great season,"
Mourinho said.
"It's obvious that I can't build the team
around each
of them like Brazil do with Vini, France with Mbappe and England with
Bellingham. It's harder for me
to find a place for all three of them, but that's where we are."
Mourinho said he had also drawn a line under the
changing-room fight between Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde late last
season, saying both players had convinced him there was no need
for peace
talks.
"With them, I've decided to start from
scratch," Mourinho said.
"Ever since Tchouameni
arrived, I've been keeping a close eye on things and haven't felt the need to
say anything. I’ve
observed from afar and all I saw was
complete normality. What I saw was peace, friendship, companionship. As if
nothing have happened."
Reporting originally appeared via Citizen Digital. Read the full source for additional context.