Real Madrid have officially unveiled Jose Mourinho as their new coach following a presentation in the Santiago Bernabeu press room on Monday afternoon.
Just a little over a week after winning the Champions League with Inter at the Bernabeu, Mourinho will succeed Manuel Pellegrini at the Blancos coaching hot-seat after Madrid successfully negotiated his exit from the Nerazzurri last Friday.
Accompanied and introduced by Madrid director-general Jorge Valdano, Mourinho began by admitting that he has forgotten most of the Spanish that he picked up while he was at Barcelona, but vowed to be able to address the media in fluent Spanish once the pre-season starts.
“I don’t know whether I was born to coach Real Madrid, but I was certainly born to be a coach. I’d like challenges, and this is a challenge for me. I was attracted to the great history and tradition that Madrid have, but also for their frustrations in recent years to win titles. Madrid are a unique club, and to not be able to train Madrid would’ve been a void in my career.“Luckily I have had a good career so far and it gives me great pride to be able to coach Real Madrid.
“I have a winning attitude and Madrid should always have great players and great coaches. I want my players to have the same winning mentality. That is my motivation, to have my players share the same attitude.”
Mourinho will be Los Merengues’ 11th coach in just over seven years, but the ‘Special One’ is not worried about suffering the same fate as his predecessors did.
“I think every coach needs to be prepared for any challenge, but if a coach is scared of something, scared of being sacked, then things are not working well,” he explained.
“There will always be great difficulties. But I have confidence in myself. I believe in my abilities. I never think about leaving or being sack. I have a four-year contract, more than enough to win trophies, create a new identity, and prepare a good team for the present and for the future.
“I’m looking forward to getting to work, I have confidence in myself and in my players and I hope that my new team will have the same conviction in me.
“I like to thank everyone at Madrid, to Florentino Perez, Valdano, to the board for thinking I’m the ideal candidate for the project... to build a winning team.
“I am who i am. I am Jose Mourinho and I will not change. I’m here at real Madrid and I come with all my qualities and flaws.”
On converting Madrid to a winning side:
“I’m going to try and make reality what I envision for this club. The best thing to do is to have confidence in the team and if you can do that, you can achieve your objectives... along with hard work.
“There will also be a need to change some things in accordance to the way I work. The players will have to adapt to the way I think and train.
“I’m just a coach here at Real Madrid, nothing more. I’ve always said that it’s vital to have quality people working with me at all levels. In order to be a good coach you need good people working with you and I always want to have the best working with me.”
On his biggest challenge and his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo:
“It’s too early to talk about changes. I need time to analyze the situation... ask a lot of questions, wait for answers, work for the information, and realize where I am and realize the direction of my work.
“As for Ronaldo, I understand that he is an incredibly important player not just for Real Madrid, but for football. But the strength of my team will always be the team, not individuals. Players must understand the most important thing is the club, not the player or the coach.
“If we all work as a group, it will be easier to get results. Cristiano is a winner and if he likes to win, it won’t be difficult to tell him that the most important thing is the club, not the individual.”
On being the best:
“No, I don’t consider myself to be the best. There are several coaches who can be considered the best. At the end of the day, the result at the end of the season is what counts. I had a fantastic season, I won every trophy possible, but that comes down to the team.”
After meeting with Florentino Perez and several members of the board, Mourinho formally signed his four-year contract.
He then had a brief conversation with the club's Honorary President Alfredo di Stefano, before being presented with the pen that he used to ink his contract, a replica of the Santiago Bernabeu, a gold watch, and the Madrid jersey with "Mourinho" and "No. 1" on the back.
0 See other people's comments:
Post a Comment