IS that his daughter? Shes beautiful ....

Real Madrid have rejoined Juventus and Tottenham in the race to sign Liverpool right back Glen Johnson after Jose Mourinho fell out with Sergio Ramos, according to Marca.

The Spanish daily have revealed the Madrid pair fell out in the aftermath of their 5-0 humiliation against Barcelona, when Mourinho wanted to be the only one to speak to the press.

However, his vice-captain felt it necessary to apologise for a late red card after a tackle on Lionel Messi, angering his manager who wanted his players to keep quite for 48 hours.

With ‘the Special One’ keen to continue his Real revolution, Johnson is now back on his radar despite a poor start to the season with Liverpool.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson criticised the former West Ham man after a string of less than impressive performances and Johnson is now unsettled at Anfield.

With rumours of Madrid’s interest earlier on this year surfacing, he then took the decision to start learning to speak Spanish, prompting even more speculation.

And with news that Rod Fanni’s proposed move to Marseille has fallen through, Liverpool are prepared to cash in on their defender and bring the Frenchman to Anfield in a cut price deal.

'La Gazzetta dello Sport' Man of the Year

Jose Mourinho becomes the first coach to receive the award from the prestigious Italian sports journal in 32 years

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

Jose Mourinho has been chosen as 2010's Man of the Year by Italian sports journal La Gazzetta dello Sport. He is the first coach to receive the award in 32 years and has managed to defeat Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal (2nd) and Sebastian Vettel (3rd). The Real Madrid coach has managed to win 20, draw four and lose only one of his 25 official games with the team. He also won the Champions League, the Italian league title and the Cup of Italy with Inter Milan in 2010.

Match

Getafe - Real Madrid

Date

Monday 03/01/2011

Time

22:00

Venue

Alfonso Perez Coliseum

Back to work

Real Madrid have a hard schedule ahead of them in January

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

Real Madrid returned to work on Wednesday after their Christmas break to begin preparing for Monday's match against Getafe. The game will be the first of a possible nine fixtures the team could end up playing in January.

Three days after the match in Getafe, Real Madrid will face Levante in the return leg of the Copa del Rey Last 16 (they won the first leg 8-0).

Villarreal will be the first opponent to visit the Bernabeu in 2011 on 9 January, and this will be followed by the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. The match against Almeria on either 15 or 16 January will seal the first half of the championship, and it will be followed by the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

Mallorca will come to the Bernabeu on either 22 or 23 January for the first game in the second half of La Liga. The month will be sealed by the match against Osasuna in Pamplona on 29/30 January, but there could also be a Copa del Rey semifinals match on 26 January if the team makes it that far into the competition.

IS that his daughter? Shes beautiful ....

That's a girl? I tought that was a boy?

I thought the same. I think it's boy.

"Mourinho is best in the world"

Former Real Madrid coach Leo Beenhakker has added his voice to the chorus of admiration for incumbent Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho has won glowing plaudits in the football world for quite some time now - his treble win with Inter Milan being one highlight in a career replete with success.

Beenhaaker, who coached Real from 1986 to 1989 and again in 1992, told the club's official website:"We are colleagues, we know each other and we get along very well. I've been a fan throughout his career because I like how he does things.

"He is the current number one.

"How well he knows his job (is what I like about him the most). He has a very strong personality and is temperamental. I like that.

"He always makes a stand for his players, which in turn makes these have confidence in him on and off the pitch. I tried to do the same with my men because I know players suffer from a lot of pressure.

"They (Madrid) are a tight side. Mourinho is a fan of good and beautiful football, but he is also very aware of the score in a game.

"He knows how to mix both things and achieves balance between earning a good result and playing a beautiful game."

Looking back at his years with Real, Beenhakker said:"It was the most important stage in my career. I won three league titles, one Copa del Rey and one European Super Cup with the team.

"We reached the semifinals of the European Cup three times and never reached the final. That's the thorn in my side and that of players like Michel, Gordillo, Hugo Sanchez, Butragueño... It was an unbelievable era."

Mourinho will certainly be pleased, if not surprised, to hear words of such praise from a colleague.

Mourinho wants Adebayor at Madrid

Real Madrid are reportedly interested in rescuing Emmanuel Adebayor from his Manchester City nightmare.

It is no secret the Togolese striker wants out of Eastlands after struggling for first-team action under manager Roberto Mancini.

The 26-year-old has fallen down the pecking orders behind Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli and is searching for a new club to revive his career.

Now according to Spanish newspaper Sport, his next destination could be Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is seeking a new striker after long-term injury to Gonzalo Higuain.

The Portuguese is familiar with Adebayor during his spell as Chelsea coach and believes he is the man to compliment Cristiano Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, City would be willing to let their man go the moment they land Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko.

The Eastlands club have reportedly agreed on a £27 million deal for the Bosnian hitman.

Mourinho: "Kaka is ready to give us 15 or 20 minutes of his supreme quality"

"We are in good form, so it would be Getafe's fault if we don't win, not ours"

Laura Navas / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Jose Mourinho addressed the media after training. The coach discussed Kaka's recovery and Higuain's injury.

"We didn't have Kaka for six months and we built a team without him. We now miss Higuain and we will have to come up with a team without him. This side has to adabt to the circumstances. Players sometimes have to play in positions they are not used to and we may have to come up with a different system of play. It is a challenge for all of us. Everything is decided in the last six months of the season and we have to find balance. We may end up playing 14 games between January and February, so we must be pragmatic and objective. We are all in this together to make things work."

"Kaka will not be a starter against Getafe. He isn't fit enough to even try, but he can give us 15 or 20 minutes of his supreme quality, no more. He is a fantastic professional and he's done an amazing job. The Medical Staff has followed him closely and he's had a recovery expert with him practically 24 hours a day working very hard. His return prompts us to congratulate him and those who worked with him. Kaka is a fantastic professional."

"The Medical Staff and myself have been certain for one month that Higuain must have surgery. There were some enlightened people who said he could recover without surgery and people tend to accept as truth that which they want to hear. These enlightened people changed their opinion after a month and Higuain must now have an operation. It's a shame because Higuain is a fantastic player and a great kid. I feel very sorry for him and also for the team, which comes first, but I'm glad a serious Medical Department like ours has been proven right in the end. I managed to talk very little about Kaka for six months and to give all my confidence to those who worked with him. We will try to do the same with Higuain and remain close to him. It is a tough time psychologically for the player and we must support him, avoid talking about it and give confidence to the players available on the team."

"Getafe are playing very well and they've earned several straight victories. They are very confident and positioned well on the table, which allows them to remain calm. We've been training well for four days, concentrating hard and working with intensity. We are in good form, so it would be Getafe's fault if we don't win, not ours."

"What I know about Michel is what football lovers know, mainly his career as a Real Madrid player. He was one of the most important footballers of his generation and we also know the career he's had as coach. Michel's heart is for Real Madrid and people like that will always find the Club's doors open for them. That's how I feel about the chances he may have in the future to coach this team."

Goalkeepers: Iker, Adán, Pacheco.

Defenders: Albiol, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Arbeloa, Garay.

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Khedira, Gago, Lass, Granero, Özil, Di María, Kaká, Canales, Pedro León.

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema.

Mourinho: "It is in the essence of this team to fight to the end"

I can only say very positive things about my side"

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

Jose Mourinho had an uneasy feeling about the match in Getafe, but he was happy with the victory.

"I always felt the game was strange. At the start, it looked we could win 3-0 or 4-0, but by the end of the first half I felt like we had lost control. We had a good start to the second half and it looked like we could be calmer in the match, but Getafe's goals and the red card we saw made us feel anything could happen in the final moments of the game. The clash could have had two completely different outcomes."

"We took three points in the end, which is what we've been doing all through this season. We've won 14 of the 17 games we've played so far in La Liga, and we earned five victories and one draw in the first round of the Champions League. If we keep this up we will reach the end of all three championships. It is in the essence of this team to fight to the end."

"We didn't have our usual concentration level tonight. We normally are a tighter side. We gave our opponent room to attack. Getafe are a creative and dynamic team with players that are technically very good."

"I replaced Lass because he didn't seem to be doing too well in a match that was beginning to be marked by transitions and one-on-ones. I also noticed the referee hesitated at times regarding bookings and that he seemed to have a different criteria for each team..."

"Kaka has recovered from his injury, but his functional recovery is a different matter. He still hasn't reached his full potential. His return is great news for Real Madrid, for the Spanish league and for world football. He is a super player who hasn't really played in Spain because he spent a whole year practically injured and six months completely injured. He is ready to play 15 minutes now, he will be able to play 20 against Levante, 25 against Villarreal, and he will gradually recover this way. It's great news. He is as happy as if he were making his debut as a professional. We are all very happy."

Mourinho: It was a strange game

Real Madrid honcho Jose Mourinho admitted that his charges had to endure a tense finale in their 3-2 win against Getafe.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened Madrid's account with a penalty before German midfielder Mesut Ozil doubled their lead but Getafe replied through Daniel Parejo.

Another Ronaldo strike seemed to have ended the home side's resistance but Alvaro Arbeloa's sending off coupled with a Juan Albin goal meant that Madrid had to survive a late Getafe onslaught.

Speaking to the club's official website after the match, Mourinho conceded that his side could have imploded right at the end.

Mourinho elaborated: "I always felt the game was strange. At the start, it looked we could win 3-0 or 4-0, but by the end of the first half I felt like we had lost control.

"We had a good start to the second half and it looked like we could be calmer in the match, but Getafe's goals and the red card we saw made us feel anything could happen in the final moments of the game. The clash could have had two completely different outcomes."

"We took three points in the end, which is what we've been doing all through this season.

"We've won 14 of the 17 games we've played so far in La Liga, and we earned five victories and one draw in the first round of the Champions League.

"If we keep this up we will reach the end of all three championships. It is in the essence of this team to fight to the end."

"We didn't have our usual concentration level tonight. We normally are a tighter side. We gave our opponent room to attack. Getafe are a creative and dynamic team with players that are technically very good."

The Portuguese chief also explained his decision to haul off midfield enforcer Lassana Diarra.

He said: "I replaced Lass because he didn't seem to be doing too well in a match that was beginning to be marked by transitions and one-on-ones. I also noticed the referee hesitated at times regarding bookings and that he seemed to have a different criteria for each team."

The game also marked the symbolic return of Brazilian wizard Kaka, who stepped into the fray in the 75th minute to make his league debut and mark the end of his six month injury jinx.

Mourinho added: "Kaka has recovered from his injury, but his functional recovery is a different matter. He still hasn't reached his full potential. His return is great news for Real Madrid, for the Spanish league and for world football.

"He is a super player who hasn't really played in Spain because he spent a whole year practically injured and six months completely injured.

"He is ready to play 15 minutes now, he will be able to play 20 against Levante, 25 against Villarreal, and he will gradually recover this way. It's great news. He is as happy as if he were making his debut as a professional. We are all very happy."

The result moved Madrid to within two points of table-toppers and defending Primera Liga champions Barcelona.

Getafe 2-3 Real Madrid

In-form Cristiano Ronaldo scored another two goals as Real Madrid saw off local rivals Getafe to claim a 3-2 derby win.

Ronaldo, who took his tally to 25 goals for the season with his hat-trick in Madrid`s 8-0 Copa del Rey win over Levante just before Christmas, opened the scoring from the penalty spot early on before Mesut Ozil doubled the advantage soon after.

Dani Parejo pulled a goal back for Getafe with a brilliant strike in the 29th minute but Ronaldo restored Madrid`s two-goal lead just before the hour-mark.

Madrid faced a nervy end to the match after first being reduced to 10 men when Alvaro Arbeloa picked up a second booking before then seeing Juan Albin pull another goal back for Getafe.

But Jose Mourinho`s men held on to make it 11 wins in their last 12 competitive matches, with the only setback being their 5-0 mauling at the hands of Barcelona.

More good news for Madrid came with the long-awaited return of Kaka, who made his first appearance of the season as a late substitute having overcome his injury.

Both sides came into the match in great form, with Getafe having won five on the trot and unbeaten in their last eight outings, but it was Madrid who were quickest out of the blocks.

It took the visitors just 10 minutes to get themselves in front after Angel Di Maria went crashing in the area following a challenge by Jose Manuel Mane.

Getafe protested vehemently against the decision but the delay did not distract Ronaldo, who gave Jordi Codina no chance to save with a thumping penalty.

Eight minutes after that it was 2-0, with Di Maria heavily involved again.

The Argentina international`s threaded through-ball was perfect for Ozil, who burst into the area, rounded Codina and rolled the ball in at the near post.

Madrid boasted a 4-0 lead after 37 minutes of last season`s encounter at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez and a similar scenario looked on the cards tonight following that impressive start.

However, Getafe got themselves back into the contest with a superb effort from former Madrid youngster Parejo, who picked the ball up 25 yards out, skipped in between Arbeloa and Lassana Diarra before slamming a rising shot past Iker Casillas at his near post.

That was just the confidence booster Getafe needed, but they were unable to make any further in-roads before the break and for most of the second half they found themselves on the back foot as Madrid dominated.

Karim Benzema fired one opportunity over before then turning provider to help Ronaldo made it 3-1 in the 57th minute, the Frenchman capitalising on a poor clearance from Codina to feed the ball into his team-mate, who slotted in a low shot.

Madrid should have made it 4-1 in the 65th minute following a three-on-one breakaway but Di Maria`s heavy touch gave Codina the chance to save, before Ronaldo tested the home custodian with a 25-yard effort.

Benzema was denied by the outside of the post soon after while Ozil only narrowly missed netting his second of the match with a curling effort that went just wide.

Madrid looked in complete control but the dismissal of Arbeloa, who was shown a second yellow card in the 82nd minute when a cross struck him on the hand, made for a tense finale for Mourinho`s men - especially when Albin reduced the deficit soon after.

Marcelo made a mess of clearing a cross form the left and Albin slammed the loose ball in from close range.

Getafe could not grab a late equaliser, though, as Madrid kept the pressure up on arch rivals Barca.

Getafe 2-3 Real Madrid

In-form Cristiano Ronaldo scored another two goals as Real Madrid saw off local rivals Getafe to claim a 3-2 derby win.

Ronaldo, who took his tally to 25 goals for the season with his hat-trick in Madrid`s 8-0 Copa del Rey win over Levante just before Christmas, opened the scoring from the penalty spot early on before Mesut Ozil doubled the advantage soon after.

Dani Parejo pulled a goal back for Getafe with a brilliant strike in the 29th minute but Ronaldo restored Madrid`s two-goal lead just before the hour-mark.

Madrid faced a nervy end to the match after first being reduced to 10 men when Alvaro Arbeloa picked up a second booking before then seeing Juan Albin pull another goal back for Getafe.

But Jose Mourinho`s men held on to make it 11 wins in their last 12 competitive matches, with the only setback being their 5-0 mauling at the hands of Barcelona.

More good news for Madrid came with the long-awaited return of Kaka, who made his first appearance of the season as a late substitute having overcome his injury.

Both sides came into the match in great form, with Getafe having won five on the trot and unbeaten in their last eight outings, but it was Madrid who were quickest out of the blocks.

It took the visitors just 10 minutes to get themselves in front after Angel Di Maria went crashing in the area following a challenge by Jose Manuel Mane.

Getafe protested vehemently against the decision but the delay did not distract Ronaldo, who gave Jordi Codina no chance to save with a thumping penalty.

Eight minutes after that it was 2-0, with Di Maria heavily involved again.

The Argentina international`s threaded through-ball was perfect for Ozil, who burst into the area, rounded Codina and rolled the ball in at the near post.

Madrid boasted a 4-0 lead after 37 minutes of last season`s encounter at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez and a similar scenario looked on the cards tonight following that impressive start.

However, Getafe got themselves back into the contest with a superb effort from former Madrid youngster Parejo, who picked the ball up 25 yards out, skipped in between Arbeloa and Lassana Diarra before slamming a rising shot past Iker Casillas at his near post.

That was just the confidence booster Getafe needed, but they were unable to make any further in-roads before the break and for most of the second half they found themselves on the back foot as Madrid dominated.

Karim Benzema fired one opportunity over before then turning provider to help Ronaldo made it 3-1 in the 57th minute, the Frenchman capitalising on a poor clearance from Codina to feed the ball into his team-mate, who slotted in a low shot.

Madrid should have made it 4-1 in the 65th minute following a three-on-one breakaway but Di Maria`s heavy touch gave Codina the chance to save, before Ronaldo tested the home custodian with a 25-yard effort.

Benzema was denied by the outside of the post soon after while Ozil only narrowly missed netting his second of the match with a curling effort that went just wide.

Madrid looked in complete control but the dismissal of Arbeloa, who was shown a second yellow card in the 82nd minute when a cross struck him on the hand, made for a tense finale for Mourinho`s men - especially when Albin reduced the deficit soon after.

Marcelo made a mess of clearing a cross form the left and Albin slammed the loose ball in from close range.

Getafe could not grab a late equaliser, though, as Madrid kept the pressure up on arch rivals Barca.

Mourinho: We do not think of defeat; we think only of the triumphs we want to achieve in the future.

In 2010, the balance of the National Team was rocked. Did you anticipate it a little?

The National Team was the most frustrating in 2010. I guess I'll never coach the Selecção, because of my mentality and personality. I'm not an office coach who watches games, travels to watch matches and players. I'm a coach to train every day – playing three times a week, if necessary. But at the time it motivated me – I convinced myself that I had people at home relying on me, it weighed on me emotionally and pushed me to accept. And I accepted. And after having said that I was going to Portugal to run the game against Denmark, they told me I could not go. It is my frustration.

Do you think that Real made the right decision not to let you go?

Then I realized that it was not a comfortable situation for Real Madrid. I had to travel a lot, would return on Thursday to prepare for the game with Malaga, and then if we lost, they would say that it was because I had left the club and my job for 15 days. This despite having no players to train [because of the international break]. But I never had any resentment, because it was a decision that Real Madrid had to make. From the stand point of my personal motivations, which I have to look at at this point in my career, it was a big challenge. Yes, it was my professional frustration of 2010.

Are you satisfied with the work of Bento so far?

Yes, he won both games. Started well, with pragmatism, simplicity, realism. Simple speech, simple way to play, simple philosophy, and I think that was exactly what the squad needed. The players felt freer, happier, because he showed empathy. He arrived there, they won both games, and now they're on vacation in peace.

And there was still the bonus of 4-0 with Spain...

Exactly. I'm happy, like all Portugueses. Certainly.

What is your biggest wish for 2011?

The familial part is always above the professional aspects. Health, peace, tranquility – for my children grow healthy and for my family to laugh, that to me is the most important. And in sport, to enjoy what I do and continue to earn. I have not had one blank season. The worst season of my career was the third season at Chelsea when we won the FA Cup, League Cup, and went to the semi-final of the Champions League. I want a normal season, where there is something to "paint" [the town; to do extraordinary things] with.

"Winning the Champions League is how you get to the moon."

Would you have liked to go on vacation and and savor Inter's Club World Cup win?

The World Club Cup is an important trophy for clubs, but meaningless for a coach or a player. It does not interest me. The merit of winning this competition is to get there. For example, the coach who won the competition with Porto in 2004/05 reached the Club World Cup, won against the Colombians and went home. At Inter it was the same thing: a coach arrives, a team faces South Korea and other Africans hoping to reach the final, wins, goes to Italy, and is dismissed. What attracts me is not the title but the difficulty of getting these things. And the difficulty (and top priority) for me is to win the Champions. I felt that, at FC Porto and Inter, it is how you get to the moon – the level to which all aspire. Then to come talk to me about becoming World Club Champion by winning against a Colombian and an African team? It enriches the club's resume, but to me as a coach, it tells me nothing.

"The Defeat at Camp Nou is just the end of a cycle."

After a great debacle in World War II, Churchill said to the British people, eye to eye, something like this: "It is in our biggest losses that we build the greatest victories of our lives." What inference can we take from this phrase from the English ruler? Is it utopian?

No, I do not see this as a utopia. I saw the loss in Barcelona not as a question for me, but as a good question raised to my team. Would the defeat be the end of a great cycle of victories, or the beginning of a cycle of defeats? We went twenty games or so without losing – indeed it was almost always a win – and we now know beyond reasonable doubt that the loss at Camp Nou only ended a cycle of victories.

What was the secret not to lose your way?

The following week, with all the difficulties inherent in defeat, in addition to the quality of a team like Valencia, we had the strength and quality to begin a new round of successes.

This is the ability that Churchill spoke of: to use a great failure to construct what could result in a beautiful victory...

Today, in our team, nobody thinks of the defeat, but of the triumphs we want to achieve in the future. And I, who have been accused of many things during his career, sometimes with truth, other times with lies – have never paid a price for losing well. To lose poorly [sorely] is a disaster for me. Reaching the end of a game where the stronger opponent's win was well-deserved and the referee played his role, has never caused drama for me, even if some say otherwise. In these circumstances we momentarily face an disadvantage and take the appropriate measures in order to help us overcome our problems.

"In more than 30 games, with a new team, made up of boys, Real has only one defeat."

The inexperience was decisive in the game at Camp Nou?

In Barcelona there were those who were making their debut in a game with such magnitude – Khedira came from Stuttgart, Özil from Werder Bremen, Benfica's Di Maria – they all vary between 21 and 22 years, and, finally, the conventional concepts that they are accustomed to do not compare with the importance and social burden of this game. The game with Barcelona was a success [that occurs] once in a lifetime. With Inter, I was successful as a visitor at Camp Nou, won a derby to AC Milan by 4-0. Benfica won against Sporting by 3-0, FC Porto also beat Sporting 4-1; and, in the Premier League title game, Manchester United won 3-0 against Chelsea… Sometimes it happen in games that everything goes well for one and everything goes wrong for another.

But it must be tricky for whom everything goes wrong…

It is better to win, of course, but it was very easy to explain, comment on, and digest what happened. The press conference after the game, it was very easy for me...

And, now, also particularly commended…

I could and was able to argue one thing, perhaps, went unnoticed in the face of such great superiority evidenced by our opponent, with the finding at 2-0 to Barca with almost an hour to play: there was a violation of Ronaldo by Valdés, deserving of a penalty and the expulsion of the goalkeeper. Now, this happened in the only period when the Real was favored (as it had never been before), following our opponent's second goal. The team had an interesting reaction, enjoyed a free kick from Cristiano, and another move where he delivered a dangerous ball to Benzema.. It was with this dynamic that we arrived the occasion of this penalty that could been the goal that made all the difference for us, playing 11 against 10 with almost one hour to go.

Why did you not reveal that the referee's blunder when faced with the journalists?

If the outcome or even the quality of the game had been balanced, this was an argument that had to be wielded as much as possible because it was so something that was all too evident. Once they have won by such large margins and we have played so far below what is within our reach, it inhibits us saying much about it. It is the mentality of Real Madrid and I do not like to explain my setbacks with the mistakes of others, and had never lost by such expressive figures. Therefore, we prefer to say they were better – much better – scored well and… period. There is no more to be said.

Faced with the facts, would you have been happy if the game was over at half-time?

At halftime I realized that things were too complicated and that everything would depend on the second half. When Barca reached 3-0 – even though no one has said, even now, that they did so offside – and then to 4 and 5, I got the sense there would be a goal for each ball that reached our goal. And if the game lasted another 5 or 10 minutes, it could have been 6 or 7. But as I said from the first moment, the defeat was easy to digest.

And how was the week following the rout?

It was that that was the key to everything, because after the Camp Nou we had a very tough match against Valencia and the reaction during the week and at the game was excellent. The players have been assimilated by the Borg our message and were excellent in the way they faced the moment.

The big lesson was to show your greatness in defeat…

I have already lost by one or two when we played superior to our opponents, and broken even when we needed to win and, yes, it is very difficult to explain. At Barcelona, it was: play, lose, digest the defeat, shut up shop and think about what was to come. And, as we saw, we won the five games that followed – proof that we knew how to turn things around. In more than 30 games, with a new team, made up of boys, Real has only one defeat – facing an opponent that everyone who likes football recognizes as a top team.

Do you agree that Barca is the best team in the world?

No. The best is Inter Milan, who, after winning the Champions League, have just won the Club World Cup.

"It is a pleasure to know Cristiano, to be with him every day, to have him in my day-to-day life."

Cristiano Ronaldo has met your expectations?

He has exceeded them. I am coach of the player Cristiano Ronaldo and not of the man. Here, it is the player that is my concern, but I prefer to start with the boy, the young man, whatever you like to call him. Outside of the professional field, he is fantastic, an amazing kid. Say what you will, he is a great kid. I continue to say this as a man. It is a pleasure to meet him, to be with him every day, to live with him from day to day. And it is unfortunate that few have the ability to ever truly know him, because he has to block out much of your world with the level that he is attacked on a personal and professional level. But I never tire of repeating it, he is a spectacular young man. And as a player he is everything that you know and more. Quality as a professional, and his ambition.. I do not have the words to define it.

You said a while ago that he was not defended in the Spanish league. Are the referees also prejudiced against Cristiano?

I think, as a player, Cristiano is a little bit of what I am as a coach. Not a politician, not selling his image – he is what he is and does not care to pretend to be something else to be able to sell a more accessible image. After all, he is the player that all would want to be. He's the best, one of the best ones, who makes more money than everyone in football and in advertising, has girlfriends who others want to have, has a great family around him that makes him feel like a boy. He is what everyone wants to be.

This prejudice also exists from other players?

I will tell you one episode in a game during this championship: at the end, I saw an opposing player at the door of our dressing room. I asked him if he wanted anything, and he said that he wanted to swap jerseys with Cristiano Ronaldo. I told him to enter the spa, but he preferred to stay at the door. The next day, I read in the newspaper the same player saying that Cristiano Ronaldo is a bully who throws himself onto the ground, who does not respect his opponents and the public. Cristiano is Cristiano, and thus, fortunately, he has learned to live with this situation and follow his own path. But, in fact, it is a little ungrateful of them. Because he is a player who gives Spanish football a spectacle every week, who has a coach who does not protect him, who always plays and never chooses not to play games… He is noble, saved by benefitting from the education of Alex Ferguson.

Do you understand that as an advantage?

Sometimes the noble, in some types of football, they pay. He is a player who celebrates his physical strength, and takes strong stands, and shows that he is stronger than others. There is no swimming, he is not a simulator, he does not cry on the floor, he does not ask the opponents for cards... And it seems that they still punish him for becoming more noble, because referees need players to help them and for them that help is simulation, falling, rolling, requesting cards. Because of the British education of Sir Alex Ferguson, Cristiano is now exactly the antithesis of all that. Putting it all together in the same cake, he is a player who is not loved. He follows his own path and and he does very well in following it.

Do you feel that this Real Madrid team is very dependent on Cristiano Ronaldo?

I think all teams rely on key players. Chelsea depended on Lampard when he made 40 goals per season and Drogba who made 30, and Benfica depended upon Eusebio. Any team always depends more on some of its most important players. Now, to protect a player of this type, such as Cristiano, you have to build a team where he feels like a fish in the water. I find that he must be 100% happy on the field, both with the offensive work that we make and also with the defensive. If he is happy, he also manages to give much more, and this year he is breaking all records for goals. From the physical point of view, he is lucky not to have not suffered traumatic, uncontrollable injuries. But he is physically stronger than ever and I think this year he has will be able to successfully achieve the best season ever.

You said that no one protects him. Do you consider that he is subjected to more if he always plays?

To start with, he likes to play and the mental aspect is more important. We played at home against Murcia, he was on the bench and did not want to be. I think this is psychological – he is pleased to play, wants to play. Although they were a team from the 3rd Division, the stadium was full against Murcia. It seems that he felt it was his duty to come and give the people what they were expecting. It was a day that tickets were very cheap and the audience that came was different. One could see many young people who do not have the wealth necessary to often see a game at the Bernabeu. It seemed that he felt that he had an obligation to come in [in the 75th minute] and make things right. He said that he likes to play, feels that he is good, strong. The 90 minutes ended and the coach realized that it had not been necessary to remove him [from the starting lineup] to give him a little rest. There is no such need and if he has no injuries, such as last year with his ankle, I think that he always has to play.

© hala_madrid