Mourinho: “It has been a very good test before starting real competition”

José Mourinho shared his thoughts on Realmadrid TV about the win against Schalke 04 in the last preseason friendly: “Positive as a team and positive individually. There are players who joined later and still don’t have the same intensity as those who started on the first day. Those who started on the first day have had 30 training sessions and 6 matches. Those who joined now have had three or four training sessions. Obviously, there is a difference in rhythm, intensity, and endurance. But tactically, the ideas are coming together little by little. These are players of superior and incredible quality, working very well as a team both with and without the ball. I think it has been a very good test, a very good final training session before starting the real thing. The real thing is true competition, fighting for points, which is what we enjoy. And now, yes, now it’s right at the doorstep.”

What the latest arrivals bring
“At this moment, it’s difficult to talk individually because we are growing as a team. Here, we only have good players, very good players, and very, very, very good players. From the combination of the work of these players, we have to create a very, very good team. That’s what we’re trying to do, and I think we’re taking the right steps to achieve it.”

“I’m also very happy with those who arrived last. It’s not easy to jump straight into high-intensity training like what we are doing. It’s not easy for them to have double sessions in the morning and afternoon, because they train in the morning with the group and in the afternoon with the small group that joined now. With incredible heat. The 5 p.m. training session is really tough, and they arrived with a top mentality.”

Minutes distribution
“Then, the question of 45 minutes for Mbappé and Konaté or the 30 minutes for Bellingham, Cucurella, and Diomande are things that we analyze scientifically with the data we have. And with the most important factor, which is the player’s own experience, the knowledge the player has of their own body. And I think we’ve reached this good week, which is the next one, in a very acceptable condition for this moment in the season. Let’s go for it.”

Madridismo’s excitement
“We all feel it, and the most important thing is that the players are excited. If the fans are excited, if I’m excited, if the president is excited, but they’re not… we have a problem. They’re showing that they are. You see, for example, small but significant details. People who were supposed to show up on a specific day after vacation come earlier. Those who come on the last day prepared themselves very well individually to arrive on the last day. We’re playing as a team. There’s empathy and collective work. The team is starting to look like a team. Because if we talk about players individually, as I told you, they’re either very good or very, very, very good.”

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.