Jose Mourinho gives take on Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid – ‘The most important thing is…’ | OneFootball

Benfica manager Jose Mourinho has wished Alvaro Arbeloa well with Real Madrid ahead of their clash in the Champions League, albeit not when the two face off at the Estadio da Luz. Mourinho will come up against his former player for the first time, and against Los Blancos for the first time in six years, since he faced them with Manchester United.

The Eagles are in need of a win to qualify for the knockout stages in the Champions League, as they currently sit in 29th spot, two points outside of the play-off places. Mourinho will have to improve his record against Los Blancos with stands at four defeats and one draw, the latter result dating back to his Porto days.

In light of the ongoing Negreira case in Spain, and Mourinho’s most famous Real Madrid press conference, in which he asked why Barcelona get decisions from referees, the Portuguese neglected to get in involved with it.

“I’m not interested, honestly. I live my career day by day. What happened, happened.”

‘The most important thing is that Arbeloa enjoys it’

One of the major topics for Mourinho was coming up against one of his former players at the Bernabeu in Arbeloa. He wish him well in his new job.

“I greatly respect that you try to steer things in the direction that suits you. The question was about Spalletti. My answer is about him. In 2000, Benfica called a coach who had never coached anyone. That coach didn’t respond because he thought they wanted him as an assistant. It’s happened to me.”

“You Spaniards have used this as an opportunity to talk about Arbeloa. Both of them are like my boys, former players of mine, and they’re special. From a human perspective, he’s one of my favourite players. He wasn’t the best, but perhaps he was one of the best players at Real Madrid. I hope everything goes very well for Arbeloa and that he has a fantastic career.”

Image via Fox Deportes.

Mourinho did not give Arbeloa any tips on the Real Madrid job, but did point to the most important part of doing the job.

“I wish him all the best. Arbeloa can coach any club in the world. Real Madrid can be coached by any coach in the world, and I want them to do well. Imagine how well I want Real Madrid to do with Alvaro. Except tomorrow. I love Arbeloa and Real Madrid. I can’t give him advice. The important thing is that he’s happy. Being a coach is a difficult task because there are many people who criticise you and talk about you every day. They create influencers in the world of football. It’s important that he enjoys it, more than anything.”

Arbeloa has always been keen to stress the impact that Mourinho has had on him, and has been cast as a similar character. His former boss said he had not been in contact with Arbeloa since the Spanish manager took over the senior side at Real Madrid.

“I haven’t spoken to him. My phone number is very complicated because the only one that’s always available is the club’s. And my family’s. My other number changes. Some people lose my contact information, and I lose it too. There’s no need for us to call each other to wish each other luck. He already knows that.”

Mourinho on Xabi Alonso spell at Real Madrid

Alonso and Mourinho during their time at Real Madrid.

Naturally, Mourinho was also asked for his opinion on Xabi Alonso’s spell as Real Madrid manager, which ended prematurely earlier this month. He, like Kylian Mbappe, seemed confident Alonso would have success down the line.

“Xabi is another one of my boys. I only have positive memories. I felt the same excitement I’ll feel tomorrow against Alvaro. I played against Xabi and I was thrilled. What he did at Leverkusen was a great joy, and so was his arrival at Real Madrid. What happened afterward and why it ended doesn’t interest me. Anything can happen. It’s very difficult for anything in football to surprise me. Now he’ll be very happy because he’s shown the level of coach he can reach.”

Real Madrid are in a strong position as they head to Lisbon, with a win guaranteeing their presence in the top eight in the Champions League. Even with a loss, Los Blancos could still receive a bye to the Round of 16, while a point all but secures their spot too.