Cristiano Ronaldo was the one appointed to talk with the press yesterday, and I’m happy that he was the choice, because he was very straightforward and said things as he felt them. And some of those things needed to be said. We also find out all about his feelings. Watch a video of the full video conference here.
[And this time, the club actually let Cris answer questions not in Spanish! Last year, in a press conference also before a Champions League game, reporters weren’t allowed to ask questions in English. This time around, Cris answered questions in Portuguese and English. Start watching around the 17:30 mark if interested.]
On the team: we’re happy and motivated. We won three points against Osasuna in a difficult game, which was the objective. As the míster said, although we didn’t have many opportunities, we were always in control of the game. We’re going to try and play better and score more goals. But the team is content. We need patience, because the team is still under construction.
On the whistles from the Bernabéu: the players do their best to provide entertainment, but sometimes we can’t. It’s better if the public supports us. The energy used to whistle [Cris didn’t know how to say “whistle” in Spanish, so he had to imitate the action so the translator would understand – it’s at the 1:40 mark in the video] is better used to support. People can express themselves however they want, but I don’t agree with the whistling. But I also believe that it’s a minority who are whistling, I don’t think it’s everyone in the stadium.
On the fans who did whistle: we won. The fans should be happy because we took all three points, although we will try and play better. But I don’t think we played that badly against Osasuna. We controlled the game and Osasuna didn’t have any occasions to score.
On the fans and their expectations: they enjoy themselves when we play well and we score goals. When we don’t play well, they’re quiet. It was the same in Manchester, but they soon wake up. In any case, we don’t always have to play brilliantly for the fans to get excited. But sometimes the fans have to support us so that together we can form a formidable team in the Santiago Bernabéu.
On the Champions League: each year, they talk about the Champions, Champions, Champions… This club should have the goal of winning it, but there’s no need to put so much pressure on the goal. We have to go slowly, and to first think about the round robin stage. It’s possible to win it, we have all the ingredients, but we have to go about it calmly.
On his confidence: I have the feeling that we’re going to win something this year. You don’t have this feeling at times? Well I have it for all the off-season moves, for the coach that came… and I’m sure we’re going to win something.
On Özil: we have some problems with the language. I try to talk to him. Although I don’t speak German, I speak English and a bit of Spanish. But he understands the most important one, the language of football. He’s a very good player, and I’m happy that he could help bring success to Madrid.
On the field at the Bernabéu: it’s not in good conditions, but it’s not horrible either. I’ve played in worse fields. I’m sure that it’ll be better tomorrow. Last year, it was perfect and in two weeks it’ll be like that again.
Other news
– Castilla forward Álvaro Morata will be out from seven to 10 days after injuring his shoulder in last weekend’s game against Celta B. Castilla lost the game 1-2.
– it will take several weeks more for the field at the Bernabéu to recover from a gasoline spill and a fungal infection (the infection resulted from the chemicals used to treat the spill), which means that the field won’t be looking its best for the next home games against Ajax and Espanyol. The team in charge of the field said that even though the pitch looks bad, it’s not detrimental to the players and football can be played on it.
– Iker has been a wall since Mou arrived, and has not conceded a single goal.
– watch a video of Mou during the Osasuna game here. Apparently, all he did during the game was chew lots and lots of gum, and throw it away everywhere (under the bench, on the field, at the cooler) except into a trash can.
– both Mourinho and Karanka brought their kids to the training session on Sunday. Aitor Karanka, David Mateos and Antonio Adán were also seen at Castilla’s game against Celta B that same day (where Morata injured his shoulder, above).
– and a huge congrats to madridista Rafa Nadal for winning the U.S. Open AND becoming the youngest player ever to complete a career Grand Slam! ¡Vamos Rafa!