Real Madrid vs. ValenciaSunday, August 19, 201219:00 CEST (Madrid)Santiago BernabeuHere's is today's full press conference with Mourinho ahead of tomorrow's match against Valencia. He was in a good mood today, as he usually is now when he comes out, otherwise he sends out Karanka. The Spanish press was such a pain for him, because they used to ask about everything except the match ahead, that he stopped appearing. Now they pretty much keep it to sporting affairs because if not he just won't come out anymore. (Except in CL because he's obligated to by EUFA.) He refused to speak about Modric, as he always says - he never speaks about other team's players. He also refused to speak about Barca (or any other team that is not the one they are playing) or answer the declarations of one outspoken Alves. He said Carvalho was too good of a player to be sitting on the bench, that's why they're trying to find an exit for him. Sahin is only going on loan, if he goes. When asked if he could stay a while and be a long term coach like ferguson he said he expects to see out his contract but coaching that many years at the same club would be 'mission impossible'. Anyways, I could on but its best just to leave you with that and I'll have the english translation up shortly. Cheers Doh - Can't edit post title, it's Real Madrid Vs Valencia.
Mourinho Press Conference, August 18, 2012 (If anyone copies this please credit our site.) Good afternoon. With only a few days left before the end of the preseason transfer window, what is the status of the team? As you know, the transfer window is open until the end of the month. The list we have given is sort of an open temporary list since we will give the definitive one at the end of the month. When I say that the list is open, it means there can be both arrivals and exits. It is very possible that someone could come or leave, but today it is not important. What matters is the game we are playing tomorrow, the fact that we have a very good team, and that there is no player potentially on the go who would represent a problem if he stayed nor is there a player potentially transferring here who would represent a problem if he didn't. And that is why we are focused on tomorrow and on this game but not on whether somebody is coming or leaving. Given the records and the points scored last season, is it possible that whatever happens this season feels like an underachievement? Or are you on the contrary freed from the pressure of winning the Liga and defeating Barcelona? Are you starting with less pressure? The pressure is not lower nor higher. It doesn't matter. Every season is different. What matters is to keep having ambitions. If you were victorious in the previous season, then you want to do it again. If you won no title in the previous season and there was no big moments, then you feel like winning. Before the season starts, the sensation is always the same, I want it to start, this is what we have been working for these past two weeks. But the pressure is not higher or lower, the ambition is not higher or lower. We never focused on the records, what we wanted from day 1 was to win the Liga. Only when we were mathematically champions did we consider the possibility of becoming a team of records. Tut being champions is being the champion and this is what we're going to try to do, whether we score more points or less points. How is Nuri Sahin's situation different from just one year ago? He went from being an exciting transfer to being a player who could be leaving in the next few days. No, what matters most is for people to be happy. What matters most is for the player to feel good, assured and to feel that he made it. That is what matters most. He had a pretty complicated season. First because he had endless injuries and then because, when he could join the team, the team was already formed, was playing well, was winning, and other players playing in his position were doing a great job. For the sake of his happiness, for him to get his self-esteem back, and also for Real Madrid, because Real Madrid will never sell him, if he leaves before August 31, he will leave on loan exclusively and Real Madrid will keep full control over his possible comeback. It is also important for Real Madrid in terms of investment. It's important that he goes and plays, that he proves himself, and then what is more important is for the player --as an asset-- to recover, and the same is true from an financial point of view. It is no breaking news for you that he might very well leave before August 31st. If he does, I think it is important for him and for Real Madrid. After last season, and knowing that you are a demanding coach, how can the team improve this year in your opinion? It's hard to say. The team has reached a very high level. In my opinion, it is the best European team from last season. They won the toughest league, with unparalleled numbers, with a fantastic game in my opinion. In the Champions league, they reached the semifinals, which is not what we wanted but it is still positive, because it means making it to the end. We are the same people, we know each other very well, I know the players and they know me. We are going to try to keep this quality of game, this ambition, also this determination and team spirit. And with all that, we will be natural contenders in the competitions that we are going to play, and we'll play to win. Regarding Barcelona, do you think they are more vulnerable...? I don't think anything, nothing at all. I am absolutely not interested in talking about opponents, unless it is the opponent for the next match of course. I am going to be interested in that opponent, I have to analyze them and be familiar with their reality as much as possible. In this case, it's Valencia. But I am not particularly interested in talking about any other opponent. From outside, we are under the impression that the team, physically speaking, is performing in a way that is not normal for the beginning of the season. Can you confirm this impression? And if you do, will you need to do something special around January or February to be able to keep that rhythm? I don't know. It's not how I see things. We had 15 days to prepare the players and the team for the beginning of the season. We don't have more than that. We worked hard during this 15 days in order to improve our form. For us, form means the form of the group, not the form of the individuals. We mean the form of the team, not the form of each player separately. And it doesn't mean the physical form either, we are talking about performance. We did our best to prepare the team for the upcoming key matches, and starting with our first game tomorrow, they'll all be important. It is true that Valencia had more time to prepare than we did, but we are not going to compare nor find excuses. We prepared as best as we could. Lucky for us, the players who were called by their national teams in the last few weeks all came back uninjured and with no problems. We are here, the whole team, ready to try and win tomorrow's game. Can you give us an update regarding Ricardo Carvalho and Ricardo Kaká's situations? I can't tell you about Ricardo Carvalho, yet, because as you know, he hasn't been integrated in the team at this point. Regarding Ricardo Kaká, I can't say anything, because he is a first team player just as any other player and he's been working with us since day 1. There is no problem or doubts regarding Carvalho. If we made that decision, it is because I've known Carvalho since he was a kid, and because he wasn't born to be a substitute. He's too good a player and he has too much self-esteem to be a substitute. The thing is, he had major injuries last season and Pepe and Sergio started to play together and things took a different turn for Ricardo. For him, for him to be happy and to finish his career well, we all think the best solution is for him to find another club in a major league, because Carvalho doesn't play in minor leagues and, given his quality, I do understand. We are all trying to find a solution that works both for him and Real Madrid, especially since we also have Albiol and Varane. But if by the end of August we hadn't reached any conclusion, then Ricardo would remain a Real Madrid player and we would be delighted about it. A Barça player, Dani Alves, talked about Real Madrid yesterday. He said... No, I'm not interested. He talked about you personally... No, I'm not interested in what he said nor in saying anything about it. Why was Real Madrid more patient with Benzema, for instance, than with Nuri Sahin? Because Benzema is Benzema and Sahin is Sahin. And because Benzema managed to keep the mental strength that people who are going through tough times need, and because he showed that he could come out of this tough time, and because his situation kept improving instead of worsening, and because he was always very clear and direct about his decision to win with Real Madrid and stay here, it wasn't a mere option to him. And time showed that he was right to have the self-esteem and internal strength that enabled him to keep working and powering through these tough times. What are you looking forward to on a personal level this season? Do you want to win more titles, do you want to become to Real Madrid the type of coach that Ferguson is to Manchester United? Being like Ferguson is difficult because he's been there for 30 years and I'm 49 and I can't be coaching until I'm 79, that would be mission impossible. But we signed up for four years, and when we did, we did mean four years, not let's sign and leave three months later. No, we signed to stay. I have two intentions with Real Madrid, but they are connected: first, to keep winning titles and second, to keep playing our game, a game with a very specific identity, a game that --I believe-- is a fantastic game. Regarding tomorrow's opponent, I wanted to know what you think about to numbers: the 32 wins that Real Madrid achieved in 38 games last season as opposed to the 39 points that Valencia, placing them in third place for the third time in a row. Valencia did a good job, they had a good season. Real Madrid achieved results that are not normal and that's why Valencia was left so far behind. But I think that Emery did a great job with Valencia and that the team, together with their coach, did an excellent job. The main objective was to play the Champions league, and they did that. And I think that Real Madrid's numbers were a little out of the ordinary. I would like to ask you about the coach of tomorrow's opponent, since he is starting in Liga BBVA. What do you know about Pellegrino? What do you think of his background? I know him because we worked together in Barcelona. I've known him since 1998 or so, maybe 1999, and I have very good memories of him. He was a very serious player, very professional, a very good team player, who was already interested in understanding things and asking things, and you could already tell that he was different than your average player, he wanted to be one step ahead as far as knowing the game went and, in this particular case, as far as coaching went. After that, in the last 15 years or so, we've met a couple of times but I'll always have a very good memory of him and I wish him a very good career as a coach, starting on the wrong foot tomorrow if possible, but still, I wish him a very good career. Have you already decided the starting 11 for tomorrow? Are you going to play with Benzema or Higuaín or both of them? Why? I have made my decision, yes, I want to see how training goes today to confirm that they can play and don't have any problems, but I won't tell you the starting 11. I've made my decision, and as far as Benzema and Higuaín go, only one will start. Regarding these two players precisely, how do you prepare them psychologically speaking for another difficult season where only one of them might be able to start? I think you don't prepare them for that. I think they have to know first and foremost what we think about them. They are two of the best forwards in the world, we don't love them, we love them very much, we don't need them a lot, we need them a great lots, so that's the first thing. They have to know and they know how much we, as the club, love them and I think the same goes with the fans somehow, because match after match we see major tokens of appreciation for these two players. Then, and that's the second thing, there is the normal ambition of any player to want to play as many games and as many minutes as possible. And the third thing is for them to understand what a team is and that the team is more important than the players, and that the interests of the team are above the interests of individual players, and that you are a Real Madrid player and that Real Madrid needs two forwards of their caliber, not just one. The last three questions were asked and answered in English. Make sure to listen to them in the video!
Ouch It looks like maybe Sahin was the one pushing for the loan after all eh? You all can worship at my feet later, as soon as my pedi dries
Ah, If only Sahin were as clear and direct about his decisions to stay, fight and win with Real Madrid as say.... Lassana Diarra, eh? Come on Jose, we're not gullible. Just say "I don't want him anymore, but the club wants to see if he pans out on loan". The truth will set you free.
Lass is a comfortable player. He might act up, but he knows being a substitute at Real Madrid is more lucrative than being a starter in Turkey or on a mid table Premier League club, especially with his reputation being totally crap. We're not asking for a blood brothership pact from players like Lass, just solid performances when we need him. Why would he lower his value when we're trying to install a nicely inflated buyout option in his contract with the club that takes him on loan?
Subs. Can't wait to get the real show started. Gonna be a tough match as usual with Valencia. They've added Guardado, Gago, Joao Pereira. Our defense better be on their toes.
This explains why he acts up mid to late season the past how many years with rumors of him wanting to jump ship along with his crap attitude surfacing. This makes no sense considered including a buyout. I reports are to be believed it is the main reason why there is a hold up. My point stands and you and I both know Jose just said some bullshit.
Can't wait for this! Valencia look like a solid team. I'd watch out for their Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli. Showed promise last season and looked good this pre-season.
So buzzed for this game, season is finally here. Soldado been talking to the press how he would love to score against us blah blah blah, seems like he does it every time we play Valencia. Lets hope for a good start, with Di Maria continuing from his pre-season form.
As Mou stated he will play both Benzema and Higuain, then i see this Arbs..............Pepe............Ramos..........Fabio ......Di Maria..........Xabi..........Khedira Higuain............Benzema...........Ronaldo
José Mourinho appeared in the press office of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium for the first time in the current season. Barely 24 hours since his league debut , the Portuguese trainer , who confessed that “Higuain and Benzema are going to play”, spoke of the match against Valencia in the white territory and of the intention of his team to defend the title so brilliantly won by the team last season: “We are not looking to break records , we want to be the champions. That is the objective. Each season is different and the most important thing is to always have ambitions. If the previous season was victorious you want to repeat that and if you didn´t have great moments you want to go for them.The feelings are always the same before starting and I want to get started right away – that´s why we have been working all these weeks. Being the champion is being the champion and we are aiming at that regardless of whether more or less points are required”. http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/Actualidad_Primer_Equipo_en/1330113342464/noticia/Noticia/Mourinho:_“We´re_not_looking_to_break_records,_we_want_to_be__the_champions,_that_is_the_objecti.htm
I think that is a misinterpretation. He definitely said that only one will start. The other one will most likely be coming on later. Nope, there is a whole thread related to this topic though; beIN Sport has the La Liga rights nowadays and it seems only Comcast and DirecTV offer that channel for now. Gotta stream if you don't have those providers.
Real Madrid starting line up: Casillas, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrão, Arbeloa; Xabi, Lass, Özil, Di María; Higuaín, Ronaldo