Jose Mourinho talks Cristiano Ronaldo, Valverde, Vinicius ahead of Valencia vs Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho talks Cristiano Ronaldo, Valverde, Vinicius ahead of Valencia vs Real Madrid Following another dramatic win in the UEFA Champions League, this time against AEK Athens , Real Madrid are now set to return to domestic action as they will be facing Valencia at the Mestalla on Saturday. As MARCA has reported, Jose Mourinho spoke to the press ahead of this game and commented on several aspects related to the match. The Portuguese coach revealed how his team has been preparing for the game against Valencia in the backdrop of a very tight schedule: “I think we’re doing well. We arrived here at 3 a.m. after the trip from Athens, but we stayed together. No player went home in an attempt to get a couple more hours of sleep. The feedback from the players has been positive, but we’re not going to make a drama out of it. We’ll be ready tomorrow.” The Real Madrid coach commented on Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to retire from international football: “I don’t want to do anything more than comment on it. The decision must be respected, and obviously I respect it. This is not retirement. Anyone who knows him understands that he still has goals he wants to achieve in his career. The only thing I would like to say is that when the day comes for him to retire from football, I hope it will be different from yesterday. Do I see him as a coach? I don’t know what might be going through his mind, but it’s too early to say.” Mourinho highlighted how Federico Valverde has changed over the last few months: “I can’t compare him with the Valverde of last season. I have seen a professional, humble young man who is a friend to his teammates… someone who sets an example for everyone. Being captain of Real Madrid is not easy.” The Portuguese tactician was clear that tomorrow’s game is going to be quite difficult: “I’m not someone who particularly misses things. More than Mestalla, I look at Valencia as a club. The most important thing is tomorrow’s match, which I consider one of the most difficult in the entire league. They have a very difficult manager, with a great deal of experience who knows exactly what philosophy he wants his teams to follow. It will be a difficult match for us. To win, we have to be at our very best.” When asked about the game between the other two contenders for the La Liga title, the Real Madrid coach was clear what result he wants: “I would like both of them to lose, but that’s not possible. It’s easy to understand because one of the two will drop points. This weekend, we know that points will be dropped… and I’ll tell you honestly, I don’t care what happens.” Similarly, he also commented on whether the upcoming matchday should have been suspended due to the death of Jesus de Miguel: “From what I have been told, there will be some beautiful tributes across all competitions. But ideally, if it were possible to speak to Jesús and ask him the question, that would be best. Since that is impossible, only his family and teammates can say what Jesús would have wanted. Whether he would have wanted to be remembered through a tribute spanning all levels of Spanish football is something for his family and friends to decide. We cannot make that decision. The tribute is for Jesús, so those who knew him deeply should have the say.” Mourinho gave some hints about his starting lineup for tomorrow: “I’m not thinking about that. It’s easy to understand that Konaté and Dean will play tomorrow. We will distribute the minutes among the players available to us. But now, thanks to the decision to play on Saturday, the players who go away with their national teams will have Sunday off.” The Portuguese coach spoke at some length about Vinicius’ situation: “For me, the most important thing is the team. I have never deliberately wanted to harm the team in order to benefit an individual player. That question has come up in the Champions League, and when Vinicius is available again as normal, I will manage the situation accordingly. “As a coach, I don’t think only about one match at a time. I also think about the next one and the sequence of fixtures ahead of us. The last match was one for Vini, and it was an opportunity to rest players like Arda, who had a few problems. But I have to do everything I can to keep my players at their best. “You must always believe in a player’s true potential. A poor player will always be poor, no matter how hard you try… but when a good player is going through a difficult spell, he gives you reason to believe he can return to his normal level. If it had been another player rather than Vinicius, people would have said the Athens match was just an ordinary game. Vinicius knocked me out of the Champions League last season, so all we can do is keep working. “He has the friendship of all his teammates, without exception, and we are fully behind him, with complete belief. But when it comes down to it, when decisions have to be made, the team must come before any individual player.” The Real Madrid coach was not worried about the upcoming international break: “Tomorrow’s match worries me, in inverted commas. The difficulty of tomorrow’s game is my priority. I don’t see the national-team break as a problem, provided they look after the players: manage their minutes and take care of them. I have no concern about a player having the honour of representing his country. The priority is a match against a team whose players are fresh and a coach who isn’t concerned with playing beautiful football; he is only thinking about winning.” Despite the exciting win against Athens, Mourinho believed the team needs to work on some aspects so not to find itself in such difficult spots going forward: “It’s better not to have to come from behind. It’s better to do what we did in Santander, leading 3-0 at half-time. A comeback represents something positive, but it also has a negative side. It comes down to belief, having a strong bench, the group’s motivation and knowing what shirt you are wearing… but there is also a negative aspect, and that is something we have to work on. We need to find greater consistency in the way we start matches.” With Barcelona and Atletico Madrid playing against one another, Real Madrid have a very good opportunity to improve their position on the La Liga table. However, they will have to get the job done against Valencia for this purpose, and hopefully, Jose Mourinho will be able to get another positive result from this match.