Mourinho: Vinicius not yet at best but deserves respect for effort

Hupu Football News – September 8: In the first round of the UEFA Champions League league phase, Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1 at home. José Mourinho gave a post-match interview.

On the Match and Raúl's Comments

Reporter: Good evening. Today we have a "rookie commentator" making his debut – Raúl González Blanco. He said: "The most important thing is to get the three points. The goals came earlier than the quality of play, and in the second half the team had opportunities to kill the game but failed, which led to a difficult finish." Do you largely agree with him?

Mourinho: I would prefer to say it was a crazy match. Often, when a match is boring, everyone criticizes it. Today's match was just very crazy. The final score was 2-1, but it could easily have been 7-6, no problem at all.

We knew we were facing a very strong team, that the match would be extremely difficult, and that our midfield was somewhat weakened, especially in terms of intensity. You saw that they started making substitutions early on, while in our midfield, I actually didn't have many options for adjustments. Even when I saw that as the match progressed we were already in a difficult situation, I still didn't have many players available to bring on.

But I think the players did an outstanding job. They won a tough match under difficult circumstances. At least this match wasn't boring at all. In the last minute of the first half, we had a chance to make it 3-0. If it had become 3-0 then, perhaps there would have been 4-0, 5-0 afterwards.

I agree with Raúl on one point: our goals did indeed come when the opponent was struggling. However, I also want to give credit to my players, because pressing can be developed through training: when to choose to initiate the press – i.e., choosing the triggers for the press – how to press, where to press, which players to press – these are all results of training.

Valverde's goal was a result of training. Don't always only criticize; we also did some things well.

On Control and the Match's Nature

Reporter: You said it was a crazy match. Obviously, the word mentioned most before the match – and I imagine during halftime as well – was "control." Although the team didn't achieve the kind of control you wanted, they ultimately won. Are you satisfied with that?

Mourinho: But they didn't control the match either. It was simply a crazy match. One scenario is that you don't control the match, and the opponent does – then you find yourself in a very difficult position. But if the match itself doesn't allow you to control it, and the opponent can't control it either, that's a different story.

Courtois certainly made many saves, lots of saves. But what about us? In the first half, in the second half, in transition attacks, how many chances did we waste? How many opportunities did we have to make it 3-0 and directly end the game?

It was a very exciting match.

On Vinicius Jr.

Reporter: One last question, as time is running short. A lot happened today, but one action between you and Vinicius caught attention. When he was substituted off, you walked over and gestured for everyone to applaud him, and then said something to him. What did you say to him at that moment?

Mourinho: He did a lot of work, really put in a huge amount of effort. I know, we all know, and he himself knows. He hasn't yet... hasn't recovered to that state yet, not yet. That Vinicius who could directly kill opponents in one-on-one situations – he hasn't returned yet.

But he worked incredibly hard. And someone who works hard and gives everything they have deserves respect.

Source: X

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Community Replies

Maybe convert him into a defensive player – his talent points might be in defensive ability 🐶 (Upvotes: 2 | Reply)

Times have changed – even Special One Mourinho is talking about social etiquette now (Upvotes: 0 | Reply | Show all replies)