Mourinho not feeling pressure to win Champions League in second Real Madrid spell
- Mourinho prioritizes stability for Real Madrid's Champions League campaign, separating his current challenge from past expectations
MADRID: Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho said he was not feeling any added pressure to win the Champions League in his second spell at the club ahead of their opener against Serie A champions Inter Milan on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Champions League is the only trophy that evaded Mourinho during his first stint at Real Madrid.
“No, it is two different spells,” he said when asked if he was in debt to the club. “When I left in 2013, we won what we won and lost what we lost, and we gave it our all. And that was that. What I need to do now has nothing to do with the past.”
“Back in 2010, we weren’t even reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League and it had been ages since we’d played in a semi-final. Now we’ve won six Champions Leagues in a little over a decade.”
All eyes will be on how Real respond to their first setback of Mourinho’s second spell - a 1-0 defeat by Real Betis in LaLiga on Friday.
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“We want to win every match, every competition,” he said. But you have to work to accomplish stability. Stability. Stability … Structure …
“So Real Madrid need to reach that stability that is so important to achieve something great. But Real Madrid are Real Madrid, you need to win here no matter what.”
Mourinho was willing to talk at length before a more tense round of questions for Kylian Mbappe. The France forward was asked several times about his relationship with Vinicius Jr and the atmosphere in the Real dressing room.
“What does an improvement in the dressing room mean?” Mbappe said when asked if there had been a change from last year.
“Do you have the feeling that something wasn’t right last year? No, it’s the same as last year. It’s true we have a different coach, but it’s the same.”
The 15-times European champions will be looking to win the Champions League for the first time since 2024 but are under pressure to perform this term after two seasons without a major trophy, which have coincided with Mbappe’s arrival at the club.
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