Mourinho's love letter to Madrid: 'Arbeloa wasn't the best, but one of the best men'
Special One reminisces about his Madrid days ahead of crucial Champions League clash, heaping praise on Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso while dodging Negreira case questions.
As Benfica prepare for their do-or-die Champions League clash with Real Madrid, José Mourinho has gone all misty-eyed about his former club and players.
The Portuguese tactician, now in charge at the Lisbon giants, faces a must-win situation against his former employers if Benfica are to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stages.
Mourinho’s Madrid memories
In his pre-match press conference, Mou couldn’t help but wax lyrical about his former players, particularly Álvaro Arbeloa, who now finds himself on the coaching staff at the Bernabéu.
“From a human perspective, he’s one of my favourite players,” Mourinho said of the former defender. “He wasn’t the best, but perhaps one of the best men at Madrid.”
That’s proper high praise from a gaffer who’s worked with some of the game’s biggest talents. Clearly, Arbeloa left quite the impression on the Special One during their time together in the Spanish capital.
Dodging the difficult questions
While happy to reminisce about the good old days, Mourinho was having none of it when asked about the infamous Negreira case that’s been giving Barcelona the collywobbles.
“Honestly, I’m not interested,” he replied bluntly, shutting down that line of questioning faster than a Sunday league keeper’s reflexes after a heavy Saturday night.
Another ‘child’ making his mark
Mourinho also spoke warmly about Xabi Alonso, another of his “children” from the Madrid days who’s now making waves as Bayer Leverkusen manager.
“I only have positive memories,” Mourinho reflected. “It gives me great joy what he did at Leverkusen, and also that he arrived at Madrid.”
The task at hand
Despite the nostalgia, Mourinho knows tomorrow’s match is strictly business. With qualification hanging in the balance, he was crystal clear about Benfica’s situation:
“It’s simple. If we don’t win, we’re out,” he stated matter-of-factly. “If we win, we’ll know in the dressing room [if it’s enough].”
The Special One’s strategy? “You either kill or die. We’ll try to do that tomorrow through balance. Without balance, Madrid will punish us.”
For all his fond memories of the Bernabéu, Mourinho’s ready to put them aside for 90 minutes as he attempts to orchestrate what would be a proper Bobby Dazzler of a result against the European heavyweights.