Jose Mourinho was officially unveiled as the new Real Madrid manager on Monday, and he set out his aim for success at the Bernabeu.
The extravagant Portuguese coach has experienced a meteoric rise in world football over the last decade, having enjoyed great success at his three former clubs Inter Milan, Chelsea and Porto.
He clinched the treble last season with Inter, following a UEFA Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich, and has now taken the reins with Los Merengues after being handed a mandate to improve the club’s fortunes at home and abroad.
Mourinho, who has penned a four-year deal, described the ‘void’ of not having Real on his managerial CV, and is keen to transform the club and get everyone pulling together in the same direction.
“I don’t know if I was born to coach Real Madrid but I was born to be a football coach,” he said.
“I love important challenges. I am Jose Mourinho and I don’t change. I arrive with all my qualities and my defects.
“My attraction to Real Madrid is due to its history, its frustrations in recent years and its expectations to win. It’s a unique club and I believe that not to coach Real leaves a void in a coach’s career.
“Luckily, I’ve had a beautiful career and it makes me proud to have come here.
“I am very enthusiastic. I want my players to think that way. The beauty is not so much to train or play at Real, but to win at Real Madrid.”
Reputation
The 47-year-old – once a translator at Barcelona – has earned a reputation for building teams that are solid at the back with an incredible work ethic.
This is something in contrast to what has been seen at Real in recent years, with the Spanish giants opting for a ‘Galactico’ policy of buying the world’s best individuals at high prices.
Mourinho would not talk of any changes that he intends to make, but insists the team and the club are the most important things.
He added: “It is too early to speak about changes, I believe it’s time to analyse the situation, to know my new club, make a lot of questions and wait for answers.
“I need to realise the direction of my work.
“But the strengths of my teams were always the team, not the individuals. And was always the fact that my players understand that the most important thing is the club, not the players, not the coach.
“We are too little compared with the dimension of the club, and if we all realise this and if we all work in a group I think it is not too difficult to get results.”
On superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Mourinho remarked: “Cristiano is an incredibly important player, not just for Real, but also for the world of football.
“Cristiano is a winner, he likes to win. So if he likes to win I think it’s not too difficult to persuade him that the most important thing in this football club is not the coach, it is not the players, it is the club.”
Real parted company with former manager Manuel Pellegrini last week following a disappointing overall campaign.
They crashed out of the Champions League in the first knockout round and although the Primera Division title race went right to the wire, Barcelona once more came out on top.
Future
Mourinho was not happy to see Pellegrini sacked, but is now only looking to the future.
“I think a coach needs to be ready to be sacked,” he said. “But if a coach fears that, he doesn’t work well and has great problems.
“I am a coach that has a lot of self-esteem and confidence and I don’t think about the possibility of being sacked.
“I think four years of contract is enough to win, to build a strong team for the present and the future.
“The sacking of Pellegrini doesn’t make me happy. I am never happy when a coach is sacked. But football is like that.
“I have a lot of confidence in my players, I have the hope that my new players have confidence in me.”
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