These are days of nostalgia for Jose Mourinho. Tomorrow, his Benfica side will face Real Madrid in a do-or-die match for a place in the next round of the Champions League. In the run-up to the match, the Portuguese coach had words of affection for his former club, Alvaro Arbeloa and also for Xabi Alonso. However, Mourinho avoided getting involved in the Negreira case.Special match: “It’s hard to predict. For many phenomena that can happen, there is something that remains undeniable. You never know what can happen. You analyze, you develop your game plan but there is a dose of unpredictability. We have to respect the nature of football and prepare in the best possible way. Play with respect. We know the opponent, but also what we are. We are not interested in the other results. Only by winning can we think whether it is favorable or not. The goal is one.”
The Negreira case and its famous “whys”: “I’m not interested, honestly. I live my career day by day. What has happened, has happened”.
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Tomorrow’s referee and transfer market: “I don’t like to say that the door is closed. If the market is open, you don’t know what can happen. I’m not desperate if a player is going to leave or not. I’m calm. About the referee… Before the game I don’t care who the referee is. I always think that the referee is going to be the best”.
Your phrase about the inexperience of the coaches and Arbeloa: “I respect very much that you try to take things in the direction that interests you. The question was about Spalletti and my answer is about him. In 2000, Benfica called a coach who had not coached anyone. That coach did not respond because he thought they wanted him as an assistant. It happened to me. The Spaniards have been good for you to talk about Arbeloa and the Italians to talk about Chivu. Both are my children, they are my former players and they are special. From a human point of view, he is one of my favorite human players. He has not been the best, but perhaps he has been one of the best men of Madrid. I hope that Arbeloa does very well and has a fantastic career”.
Top rival players: “We have to play with the characteristics we have, not with the ones we don’t have. We have to play according to the team we have. There is something obvious that is that to win we have to score one more goal than the opponent. We have to play to score, but at the same time we can’t suffer too much. We must be balanced”.
Xabi Alonso: “Xabi is another of my boys. I only have positive memories. I had the excitement that I will have tomorrow against Alvaro. With Xabi I was touched and I was excited. It is a great joy what he did at Leverkusen, also that he arrived at Madrid. Afterwards, what happened and why it ended does not interest me. Anything can happen. Now he will be very happy because he has shown the level of coach he can reach”.
Qualification for the playoffs and the market: “I don’t think it has anything to do with it. We did a market in the summer and now we try to improve for what follows. With balance and I don’t think they are related. The failure to qualify can be seen from different perspectives. The big problem in this phase is the home defeat that we should have won. Now we arrive with nine points. We also lost other games. The defeat against Leverkusen marked the qualification.”
Advice to Arbeloa: “I thought it would go well for him. Arbeloa can coach any club in the world. Madrid can be coached by any coach in the world and I want it to go well. Imagine with Alvaro. I want Arbeloa and Madrid to do well. I can’t give him advice. The important thing is that he is happy. Being a coach is a difficult mission because there are many people who criticise you and talk about you every day. They make influencers of the football world. It’s important that he likes it”.
If you have spoken to Arbeloa and the key to the match: “I haven’t spoken to him. My phone number is very complex because the only one that is always there is the club’s phone. And my family. My other phone changes. There are people who lose my contact and I also lose it. It is not necessary between him and me a call to wish us luck. He already knows. Then… It’s simple. If we don’t win we’re out. Draw or defeat. If we win, we’ll know in the dressing room”.
Strategy: “We have nothing to lose. We will play against a great team and great players. It’s kill or be killed. We will try that tomorrow through balance. Without balance, Madrid will punish us”
