Real Madrid vs. Inter: José Mourinho Stirs Things Up Right Away

José Mourinho is once again stirring up trouble on the eve of the Champions League match against Inter. At a press conference, the Real Madrid coach took a dig at his former team, primarily regarding the schedule: “We’ll have a lot of players out; it’ll be tough for us. In my opinion, whoever put together the schedule might be Italian: who am I supposed to put in midfield?”

“I don’t know if the algorithm speaks Italian or not, but it picked this match right away. But here we are, and we have several possibilities—four or five options—though in the end, I won’t say anything.” For the match against the Italian champions, the Blancos will be without Bernardo Silva, Arda Güler, and Camavinga, all serving suspensions carried over from last season.

The Special One then expressed surprise that the Nerazzurri haven’t won the Champions League in recent years: “They’re a tremendous team—I’d say a team with the same style of play from Inzaghi to Chivu, who can play with their eyes closed. It’s a surprise that they haven’t won the Champions League in recent years.”

Regarding Cristian Chivu as a coach, Mourinho had this to say: “It’s hard to predict; when they’re players, their focus is on playing. I had several interactions with him when he was coaching the Primavera; he came to Rome many times, and he had a great passion—I realized that right away.”

Last weekend’s loss to Sevilla in the Spanish league did not worry the Portuguese coach: “We’re convinced we played a good game. The scoring chances we missed were an anomaly. We have some known issues, but nothing more than that. We’ll give it our all against Inter.”