Jose Mourino is presented to the media after signing a
four-year contract with Real Madrid. Photograph: Sergio
Perez/Reuters
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 analyse
the situation... ask a lot of questions, wait for answers, work for
the information, and realise where I am and realise 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.
