Mourinho: "I'm proud to coach Real Madrid and I don't want to leave"

"Real Madrid play absolutely fantastic football; we have fun and people have fun watching us play"

Realmadrid.com / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Jose Mourinho had his last interview of 2011 with the club's official media, stressing he is absolutely thrilled to coach Real Madrid and that the team has a great future in store.

How were the holidays?

Fine, as always. Relaxing. I spent some time in Portugal and Paris, always with my family. I’m more than ready to work hard again.

The team has been working for six months since the preseason began in Los Angeles and tops the table 16 games into La Liga and also took 18 points in the Champions League, having the best run in the history of the group stage. The team also gave serious performances against Ponferradina in the Copa del Rey. Is this where you wanted it to be at the end of the year?

The team has so far achieved its objectives this season. There are no titles at stake at this stage, but we have to be in positions that give us a chance to win them later on. The team is doing a good job. We’re doing well in La Liga and, as I said previously, we would have a much larger and more significant and definitive lead in any other league championships. We’re having a great championship in relation to the great quality of our main opponent, but the point difference is narrow. The most important thing for us in the UCL was to qualify for the next round, but also to do so as group leaders and we did it in fantastic fashion, playing well and making a good impression in European football. We also seem to have put an end to the Copa del Rey curse by which the team was always eliminated early on by teams from lower divisions. We gave continuity to the good start we had last year against Murcia by defeating a team that’s important in its own category. We gave a serious performance and we’re alive in the three championships.

Do you need reinforcements in the winter transfer window?

No. We’re not in the market. It will be open for a month and I understand it’s a sort of game for some. The press has to sell, and players and agents also move during the window. It is an opportunity that presents itself for those who need it, but fortunately we don’t. Practically all my men are in shape to start the second half of the season. The Board worked hard to build this squad, to give us the necessary means to fight for what we’re fighting for. The window is closed for us. I don’t want any players. I haven’t asked for one and I’m not going to.

There are five months left in the championship. What shape is the squad in for the remainder of the season?

What I most like is being in a situation in which all competitions are open to us. None are closed to us. I’m also satisfied with my team’s maturity. Emotionally and psychoemotionally we have a stronger squad than last year’s. It is still young and has a lot to learn, but it has time to do it in. I believe the team is in good form emotionally, something my men proved immediately after losing to Barcelona. This is very important to me. The team is in good shape and no defeat will make it lose confidence or ambition. No single victory will make us believe the job is done either. I like this emotional stability very much.

Is the team playing like you’ve always wanted it to play?

Real Madrid play very well. Those who say we don’t and that we only look to earn good results lie because we play well and thrill fans. People want to come see us. The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is full in every game, regardless of whom we face. Whenever we play away games expectation is high in every championship. The team has fun and makes people have fun too. That’s important. We exteriorize the best qualities of our men and our results prove how solid we are. We’ve won 16 to 17 of our 18 to 19 matches. We are a compact side. In my opinion, every team has its own style and we have our own. You may like it more or better or worse than other styles, but football has different cultures and styles, and Real Madrid play absolutely fantastic football, managing to blend results with quality.

Is this the best moment you’re having since arriving on the team?

I’m a bit like the team. I have reached a great level of maturity in my career having experienced great things. I manage to keep ahead of time a bit and understand where we’re at and where we’re heading. Both the team and I are living a good moment, marked by confidence and stability. In football it’s hard to say when you’ve reached the absolute pinnacle and when everything will be decided. You never know if it’ll happen now, next month or in May. Everything in football is decided throughout eleven months and it’s important to keep balance on the team. When we lost to Levante and drew against Racing I said it is important to have a negative moment rather than a negative run, which are completely different things. This team has managed to have positive runs and negative moments. This allows us to be in a good position in all the championships