Jose Mourinho spoke to the media ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to Elche on Tuesday, where he was asked about Arda Güler’s development. He replied: “There are people more qualified than me to talk about his development, people who have been here since he arrived, about how he’s transformed physically. But for me, his quality of play is incredible: his vision, his decision-making, his playmaking, the stability he brings to the team, his creativity… For me, he’s a player with fantastic potential who already
has some very impressive stats. Obviously, we do deeper analyses than just the assist and goal tallies. He’s a player with a huge influence. Like you said, maybe I don’t want to go so far as to say “top, top, top” three times, but we’re certainly already close to that level.”
Mourinho on the game vs Elche
“I’d like to win. I’d like to play well and win. That’s all.”
Mourinho on Vinicius Jr
“The best version of him is scoring goals. Obviously, assisting is important, working for the team is very important. Commitment, solidarity, and teamwork are very important… The day-to-day work is also very important, and he does it very well, but there’s another Vinicius. There’s the Vinicius who arrived in Lisbon last season, and in close matches, especially in the two knockout rounds, he gets one chance, scores a goal, and that’s it. He’s lacking that top-level performance lately, but I’m happy with him.”
Mourinho on slowly improving the team
“If I ask for three months, others ask for ten years… Maybe I didn’t make myself clear or communicated poorly. What I mean is that in three months I hope to be better than I am today, but I don’t have any magic formula to say that in three months we’ll be at an incredible level. I don’t have that ability. What I do have is that in every match and every training session, the goal is to improve. When we play a match and analyze it and work on the good things and the not-so-good things, I think that the longer a team is together and the longer they’ve been with a coach, the stronger they become.”
Mourinho on pressing
“It’s complicated to explain, because we’re going to be here for a long time, and at the same time, I’m going to tell you things I don’t want to reveal publicly. But I don’t think it’s possible to press high for 90 minutes. I don’t think so. It’s not our style, and not many teams in the world have it. What we have to know how to do when we’re pressing high is behave accordingly; when we’re pressing lower, we also have to work differently. To be a more complete team defensively, we have to know how to do both. I don’t like the low block, but there are types of players and teams better suited to it, and what I don’t want are contradictions between what I prefer and the qualities of my players. I try to find something that defines us as a team, and for me, it’s that ability to press high, that ability to win the ball back high, and that ability to finish off attacks in three or four seconds of transition, which we’ve already done in several matches. But then, when the opponent has quality and the ability to develop their game—and so far I’ve seen that all the teams have this ability—when we’re playing in a low block, we don’t passively accept it, in the sense of saying, “Okay, we’re good on the counter-attack, we have players up front who can kill on the counter, and we’re fine playing in a low block.” I don’t want that kind of mentality, but I also don’t want to suffer too much, in the sense that when we’re playing deep, the opponent puts in two or three shots that force the goalkeeper to make spectacular saves, or we suffer a bit with four or five corner kicks… I don’t want that. We have to find this balance.”
Mourinho on injuries
“I know the numbers from the past, but I don’t know the process. Here, we’re involved in a comprehensive, standard, professional plan, which involves excellent interaction between everyone: the players, the technical staff with sports scientists who have the capacity for prevention, reinforcement, and individual training for minor issues that can be detected before problems arise, and a medical department deeply involved in this overall approach, with a lot of behind-the-scenes work. The fact that the players arrive earlier isn’t a whim of mine; it’s not about saying you have to be here at midnight. No, it’s about work. And that work is done in the gym before training or at the start of training on the field. When you see them on the field, they’ve already put in 35 minutes of work, whether in the gym or with the medical staff. We’re working well, and so far, we’re seeing positive results. Common sense and trust in the players are also important. For example, the other day when Valverde came off at halftime, it was as a precaution because he had a minor issue. At 0-0, he would have continued. We’re pushing the limits of risk, but at 3-0, we’re going to protect the player. You also need a bit of luck, especially with traumatic injuries. Sometimes you’re playing really well and then you have bad luck with your knees or other traumatic injuries, and that’s beyond your control.”
Mourinho on Aurelien Tchouameni being chosen for France NT
“I don’t know what the French national team coach, Zidane, has planned for the international break, and we have to respect his decision. I also don’t know what would be best for him: staying here working with four or five players and Castilla, or going with the national team and getting playing time. Probably the best option is to go with the national team, where he’ll have controlled minutes, allowing him to progress without accumulating too many minutes, too much effort, or aggravating the muscle problems he’s carrying over from the World Cup, especially in an area where they could worsen. I haven’t spoken with Zidane, but I think he’s also a man with common sense and will know what’s best for him. If he goes with the national team, it should be to help the team without jeopardizing the player’s future. Even without speaking to him, I have a lot of confidence that Zidane will know how to handle things right.”
Mourinho on rotation
“We’re working on a general level; with Cucurella and Carreras, with Trent and Dumfries, with the center-backs, none of whom have played every game… The way we’re working is to try to keep the whole squad engaged, so everyone feels useful, that they’re going to play and get minutes. This is important to me because it impacts motivation and the day-to-day work. It doesn’t always have to be a 2+1 in midfield; it can be a 1+2. Instead of playing Jude as practically a number 10 , we can play with a number 6 and two number 8s . We’re prepared for this, we do it, we know how to do it. Regardless of each player, there are balances, movements, and dynamics that don’t change much in terms of our playing style. It might change depending on the players with different profiles: Camavinga, Tchouameni, Bernardo, Valverde, Jude… We always try to find balance without ever losing our identity, but also thinking about the problems our opponents can create for us.”
Mourinho on Yan Diomande
“He’s got everything he needs. If instead of being at Real Madrid with this squad, he were at a team with fewer high-potential players, he’d surely be a starter for the full 90 minutes of every match. Diego, this applies to Diomande and all the others. The squad is strong and has many options. The coach doesn’t just focus on ten players and forget about the others. Throughout the season, the engine loses steam, as does motivation and internal competition. We’re talking about Diomande, but we could also talk about Vinicius, Arda, Brahim, and in January, Rodrygo. Being an undisputed starter, as you all seem to like that word, is difficult.”
Mourinho on having three games in one week
“How am I dealing with it? Six press conferences in one week. I talk to them [the Real Madrid Press Department] and tell them that in other countries they’d let me skip one, they’d let me, for example, not be here today or not be here tomorrow after the match. But six press conferences in one week… I’m tired of you all, you’re tired of me, I always say the same thing, you don’t have any more questions for me… But here we are, because it’s our job, mine and yours. And here we are six times a week. The players are the same: tired, less tired, more motivated, less motivated… We have to do it and we have to go for it. Elche and Atlético de Madrid are in the same situation. Atlético then has one less day to rest and the Osasuna match on Sunday. Elche also played on Saturday, like us. We’re getting there. If you tell me next week, we’ll save one out of six, I’ll bring something to snack on and we’ll have some fun (laughter in the room).”
Mourinho on rotating the forwards
“I have a lot of faith in the player’s self-awareness. Today is an important day. We only have two days between matches, and it’s important to understand how I feel, listen to the medical staff, review the training session data, and decide between today and tomorrow. But if I can and there’s nothing abnormal, I’ll play with them again tomorrow. (…) No questions about penalties? No, no? (He gets up.) Strange, isn’t it?”
