I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

For Mourinho, November is the real test for Real Madrid.

This month, Real Madrid will face off against Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Milan, Ajax, and other teams.

Not only is the team’s schedule packed, but the opponents are also formidable.

Before this city derby, Mourinho didn’t really take the Argentine coach Diego Simeone seriously. After all, compared to his predecessor Flores, Simeone was just a "greenhorn," not worth mentioning.

Madrid Derby?

This gradually getting "lively" Madrid Derby seemed like child’s play in Mourinho’s eyes. How much does he not take it seriously?

Even the team training sessions that were always kept confidential started to be made public.

People watching Real Madrid’s open training videos found Mourinho laughing and joking with the players, sometimes warmly wrapping an arm around Chen Zhong’s shoulder, chatting and laughing there, and then humorously patting Benzema’s bald head, saying something with a mischievous expression.

There was no sense of a coming battle at all.

This was also confirmed at the news conference at the end of the video. After this game, Mourinho seemed somewhat idle or indifferent at the press conference.

He said in an unconcerned tone, "I know, tomorrow is the Madrid Derby."

"But so what? They’re just lucky to be in the same city as Real Madrid."

"Our strengths aren’t even on the same level, this to me is just an ordinary game."

At this point, Mourinho emphasized, "I know, of course, I know, these three points are very important to the fans, after all, Barcelona is already gradually getting on track."

"But it won’t change anything for me personally—I’ve been through too many derbies."

"This is just another game we must win because we want to maintain our top position."

The journalists, seeing Mourinho so composed, felt somewhat unbalanced in their minds; they began to emphasize the strong players in the Atletico Madrid team, such as Fernando, Aguero, and others, who could pose a threat, as the derby between the two teams has always been known for fast scoring.

Mourinho, resting his chin on his hand, listened to the journalists, then said dismissively, "All matches are a test for us. Atletico Madrid has excellent forwards, but a team is not just their forwards."

"The focus is always on my own team. If we perform at our level, we will win."

Real Madrid, this season, can be said to be going smoothly; the last loss was quite a while ago.

Currently, Real Madrid’s unbeaten streak is only slightly less than Manchester United. When faced with the question of whether to extend the record, Mourinho appeared very calm, saying, "The day we lose will come, and after that, we will continue to win games at home and set new records."

"To me, it’s not some dramatic affair. If I must choose between a draw and a risky win, I won’t care about records but will take the risk to go for the win."

Then when asked about Atletico Madrid not winning at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for 11 years, Mourinho’s expression was even more intriguing. He said, "Statistics represent the past, and in the world of football, past numbers don’t matter."

"It only means it’s hard to win at the Bernabeu—every visiting team knows that."

"We’re not fighting for statistics; we’re fighting to win the league title, and to achieve that, you must win more games. For that reason, we need to win tomorrow."

"Of course, if you want me to estimate when they might win at the Bernabeu, I’d say not during my tenure."

Saying this, he spoke patiently like a primary school teacher.

Mourinho has recently led Real Madrid to impressive results, and the media has also praised him. At the end of the news conference, a journalist brought up Real Madrid’s tactical approach.

"Recently, people have stopped arguing that your tactics are too conservative, what do you think about that?"

"The debates are yours, not mine."

"My team has always worked hard to win games. If one day we play defensively, it’s because we’re down to ten men. When it’s eleven versus eleven, my team won’t play defensive."

Saying this, Mourinho remembered something interesting; during a recent match, he gave a small note to one of his players, which was thrown away after being read.

After the game, the media picked up the note and analyzed it thoroughly.

"Looks like I’ll have to be careful with my trash at home, because anything can catch people’s interest..."

"You’re probably curious about what the 57 meant on it. That number is how many matches we played last year."

"I was just counting; I knew we played 57 matches last year, that’s all."

As he said this, Mourinho displayed a slightly wicked smile, giving the impression he was mocking the media, which left some journalists feeling dissatisfied but also somewhat looking forward to the upcoming city derby and national derby.