Diarrá at Marca [2010-06-23]

Marca has an interview with Mahamadou Diarrá in today’s edition. Read on for his thoughts on Mourinho, Kaká, Benzema and Guti!

Q:  What do you know about Mourinho’s work style?

A:  For what I’ve learned talking with Drogba and Essien, I think he’s very close to his players and counts on everyone.  You know you’re going to have 20 minutes and if you take advantage of that, it’ll be worth it to you.  He puts everyone on the same level and that’s why he won three titles.  His players are always physically and mentally prepared to play.

Q:  Would you like to say in Madrid?

A:  I hope so, I feel good and I’ve adapted to Madrid and to the club, but it’s the club and the coach that will decide.  I came here with the objective to winning the Champions and so far I haven’t done it, and I wouldn’t like to leave without winning it.  I want to have the best year of my career, and that demands a lot of mental and physical work.  I don’t want to be on the B list again this year.

Q:  Will the best Kaká return?

A:  I’m sure.  If I were him, I would have stopped playing sooner.  It’s very difficult playing with a hernia, almost impossible because you’re only at 60 percent.  But I also understand that Madrid placed a lot of confidence in him, and he wanted to return it.  Kaká played at least three weeks with the hernia because we were playing in both the Liga and the Champions.  I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen to me.

Q:  Why didn’t he listen to you?

A:  Because Madrid is very demanding.  You can’t stop coming after costing all that money and with the club needing titles.

Q:  Who will be the best players next year?

A:  I have a lot of faith in Kaká and Benzema.  I think Karim needs a coach that will give him more confidence, that will talk to him more, that will motivate him and guide him.  I’ve seen Karim play since he was 15, when he came to train with the first team at Lyon, and he’s very loyal but impressionable.

Q:  If you were Raúl, what would you do?

A:  He can do what he wants, with all that he’s done here.  But I don’t know, I think he’s going to stay.  He doesn’t say much, but when he does…

Q:  And Guti, will he leave?

A:  Guti is a phenomenon on and off the field (laughs).  I love him a lot, he has a big heart.  We’ve never talked about what he’s going to do.  If he had the mentality of Raúl and the courage of Ruud, he would be like Zidane.  You don’t know how he plays, if you see him in training, the things he does…

Diarrá also talks about Pellegrini, but I didn’t like much what he said, so I didn’t reproduce it above.  But I’m writing it here just so you’ll have an idea:  he says that perhaps it would have been better if Mourinho had come last year, that last year the bench players knew on Monday that they weren’t going to play no matter if Madrid lost or won, and that was bad.