Before Benfica v Real Madrid, Mourinho on Arbeloa: What surprises me is... | OneFootball

He gave high praise to Álvaro Arbeloa, coach of Real Madrid. In the conference, where the Benfica coach was confronted with the appointment of Davide Massa, he made some comments about his former player, now taking the reins of the Spanish team.

"It's a quality I respect a lot, steering things in the direction that interests you", José Mourinho began in the press room of Benfica Campus when asked about the choice of Arbeloa to fill the position left by Xabi Alonso.

"The question I was asked was if it was a surprise that Spalletti is coaching Juventus, the answer was about that. The answer is, in defense of Spalletti, it doesn't surprise me that he's coaching Juve. What surprises me is when a coach without history coaches a big club", he added.

"In 2000, Benfica called a coach who hadn't coached anyone, that coach responded that he didn't want to be an assistant. He thought they wanted him to be an assistant. It happened to me. It was a big surprise. In Spain, you talked about Arbeloa. They are my boys, my former players, and special former players", recalled the Benfica coach.

"Arbeloa is one of the players who, from a human and personal empathy standpoint, is one of my favorites. He was one of the best men who played at Real. He was the last one I could pressure. You are very smart in how you do your work. I just hope everything goes well and that he has a fantastic career", admitted José Mourinho.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.