Mourinho: “We have six points and that’s half the battle for qualification”

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José Mourinho appeared in the press room at the Stadio Olimpico and analyzed the memorable comeback against Roma in the second match of the Champions League group stage : “The coach is responsible for the poor first half, and the players are responsible for the excellent second half. In my mind, as a principle, I always do things right and never think about doing them wrong. I always think about meritocracy, but football is a 90-minute game, and at the highest level, it’s strategic. Opponents matter and they play, and today’s opponent was a very strong and formidable team.”

“I knew we were running out of steam. It’s impossible to play 90 minutes at their pace. I made the changes I thought I needed to make, but I have to say that in the first half they overwhelmed us and surprised us with Soulé’s wide positioning. Cucurella couldn’t track Wesley and was constantly two against one. In the second half, we reorganized, and when we were finally settled, we conceded a goal we shouldn’t have. Then came the third, and if they’d scored four or five, they’d say I was crazy. We won 4-3, and they’re saying I played terribly in the first half with the team I fielded. That’s football. In the end, Inter and Roma, the two strongest teams in Italy, are tied on 6 points.”

Is this victory positive for the league?“The league is the league and the Champions League is the Champions League. As I said before, six points and six points is half the battle for qualification. Against Benfica, after four matches last year, we had four points and we qualified. It’s not over yet, but we already have six points. And this is important for us. There are six matches left and we already have six points. We’ve played against the two top Italian teams. Very good for us.”

Vini Jr.“You’re the journalist, but can I ask you a question? Do you think it’s normal for a player on a Spanish team, about to play an important match for Spanish football, to find out two hours beforehand that he’s been suspended for four games? You don’t need to answer me. It’s not normal. Couldn’t they have done it now or tomorrow morning? We found out on the bus, almost as we were arriving at the stadium. This is turning into something like what they say in Portuguese: ‘a hidden cat with its tail showing.’ Now the cat isn’t hiding anymore; it’s out in the open, and things are being done shamelessly. Two hours before a Spanish team’s match, a player finds out he’s been suspended for four games, and you ruin a player. It’s not normal, but now it seems normal to me because the cat isn’t hiding anymore.”

” Vini Jr. ‘s performancein the first half is either my fault or Gasperini’s, in a positive way. He did a great job. He put Wesley and Soulé wide with Cucurella . Vini Jr. against Wesley is very difficult because Wesley is a fantastic player. And they crushed us down that side with two-on-one situations. Mancini would also come out sometimes. They’d create three-on-one situations and they crushed us down that side. It was difficult for Vini Jr. In the second half, I gave him the freedom to play on the other side. Obviously, Diomande  has a different kind of defensive role. Wesley was effectively neutralized offensively by Diomande . And Vini Jr. lost a ball he shouldn’t have lost, but that’s it. I make mistakes too. It’s a shame that the mistake came now, when he was improving. And being Vini Jr., in the sense that he was happy again. It’s a shame he’s out.”

Did Vini Jr. ask you about the substitution?“It’s normal for him to ask, and it’s normal for him not to be happy. I don’t like it if he does what so many others do, which is to throw the bottle or kick it. Those are things I don’t like, obviously. But it’s normal for an important player, who was very happy with his team’s victory after the game, to be frustrated. That’s what’s most important to me.”

Do you think knowing about the suspension before the match affected him?“A player tries to block out feelings and emotions . Obviously for different reasons, but I’ve also had to do it to play here against my people, to play here in my stadium, to play here with people I love. I’ve also had to block them out. A player also has to have this ability, and I think he’s done it quite well. The difficulties he had in the first half are a positive result of Gasperini, who did a great job of making things difficult for us. They’re not Vini Jr. ‘s fault ; they’re Gasperini’s fault, who is a very high-quality coach.”

The last ten minutes: “If we started the game playing with the same eleven players we finished with, I think they would have scored five against us because it would be impossible to maintain such a high-intensity team. There are moments and moments. There’s strategy. Sometimes the coach is an idiot because he thinks strategically poorly. Other times a coach is very good because he thinks it through well. I thought, look, I’m not going to be a genius and say I had everything planned to go from 3-1 to 4-3. It’s not true. But I genuinely thought that in the last 20 minutes I had changes I could make, changes that could change things for me. For example, I told the players that it’s very difficult for someone like Mancini, who plays man-to-man, not to get a yellow card. And when he does, he either stays on the field with a yellow card, or he’s substituted. And it’s something… They have five defenders and another five on the bench. Why? Because of the way they play, man-to-man, they have many difficult situations where a player pushes, commits a foul, things that get you a yellow card. Physically, Hermoso takes you down.” With Diomande  , and when Hermoso is running out of gas, Endrick comes in . Give me some credit too.”

Do you think knowing about Vini Jr.’s suspension two hours beforehand is a declaration of war?“At the very least, it shows a lack of respect. Playing in Athens on Wednesday night. Arriving in Madrid probably at 5 a.m., something like that, and then playing in Valencia on Saturday, on a weekend preceding an international break, makes absolutely no sense. They make you play in Valencia on Saturday, which is an extremely difficult match. I don’t think it’s innocent. I don’t buy the usual excuses because I’ve been in football for 25 years. The excuses from the TV network, which decided and scheduled the match for Saturday, I don’t buy that anymore. I’m too old to swallow that. And this Vini Jr. story , finding out two hours before the match that he has a four-match suspension… It doesn’t deserve comment. Real Madrid fans aren’t stupid. And I’ll do everything I can to open people’s eyes.”

Praise for Espí: “I must say that when the possibility ofGonzalo leaving arose —a player I really liked, but it was a fantastic deal for Real Madrid —the club’s management presented me with three names, and one of them was Espí . Whoever brought him in did their job very well. After seeing him play, I always thought he would be an important player for us. For a striker, being on the same roster as Mbappé isn’t easy because Kylian is a crucial player, and it’s not easy to rotate with a player like him. Not because of his status, but because of his quality. It’s very difficult to say, ‘Okay, Mbappé won’t play against Sevilla, Espí will.’ I won’t do that, but opportunities keep coming, and when he performs as he always has, it’s natural for him to play more and more and become an increasingly viable option.”

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