October 15
The Portuguese coach doesn't believe the excuses and considers some decisions "disrespectful."
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho renewed his attack on the Spanish Football Federation regarding the timing of the announcement of Vinicius Junior's four-match suspension, deeming it abnormal to inform the player of the punishment only two hours before the Roma match.
Real Madrid overturned a deficit against Roma to secure a valuable 4-3 victory on Wednesday night, earning six points from their first two Champions League group stage matches. The game saw significant tactical shifts and raised questions about the team's performance in the first half before they regained their composure after the break.
Mourinho expressed his surprise at the timing of Vinicius's suspension in his pre-match comments just minutes before the Roma game.
Speaking after the match, Mourinho made no secret of his objection to the timing of the announcement of Vinicius's punishment, using a striking expression to suggest something was going on behind the scenes.
"The cat's out of the bag."
Mourinho addressed Vinicius's four-match suspension, questioning why it was announced just two hours before kickoff instead of being postponed.
"Is it normal for a player to find out two hours before a match that he's going to be suspended for four games?" the Portuguese manager was quoted as saying by Spanish newspapers. "You don't need to answer that. Is it normal? Couldn't they have announced it now or tomorrow morning? Did they have to do it while we were on our way to the stadium?"
He added, quoting a Portuguese proverb: "In Portuguese, we say: 'The cat's out of the bag.' It seems to me that the cat's out of the bag now. The cat's out of the bag, and things are happening without any shame. It's out of the bag."
Mourinho continued his criticism of the timing of the decision, saying: "Two hours before the match, a player on a Spanish team who contributed three points to strengthening Spanish football—I don't see this as normal. But I'm starting to think it is, because the cat's out of the bag. What's the question?"
Mourinho continued: "At the very least, it shows a lack of respect. Playing in Athens on Wednesday evening, arriving in Madrid at 5 a.m., and then playing in Valencia on Saturday, all within the week of the international break, doesn't seem innocent to me."
He added: "I don't buy the usual excuses, like it's because of TV (broadcasting rights). I don't believe that. I'm getting too old. As for the Vinicius story, and the fact that he found out two hours before the match that he was suspended for four games, Real Madrid fans aren't stupid."
Mourinho Takes Responsibility for the First Half
Regarding his assessment of the Roma match, Mourinho explained that the opponent imposed a different style of play than the matches Real Madrid had studied beforehand, emphasizing that his team struggled to cope with the opponent's attacking moves.
He said: "The opponent was tough; they play a different style of football than we're used to. It's also very difficult for them to maintain that pace and intensity for 90 minutes. They deserved to take the lead, although I didn't like some of the goals we conceded. After that, we changed thanks to the great courage shown by the players."
He added: "A draw would have been a positive result. But the win is very important. We've taken six points against two very difficult opponents, and we're in a good position."
When asked about the manager's and players' responsibility for the difference between the two halves, Mourinho replied succinctly: "The first half was the manager's fault, and the second half was the players' fault."
But he went on to explain the tactical difficulties his team faced, saying that Roma surprised them with Süle's runs down the wing, which gave Wesley frequent opportunities to outnumber Marc Cucurella.
He explained: "They surprised us by having Süle in a high position on the wing, which made it difficult for Cucurella to get forward and challenge Wesley. Cucurella faced many two-on-one situations."
He pointed out that the changes he made at halftime helped Real Madrid regain their balance, but at the same time he criticized the goal his team conceded after the break.
Why did Mourinho change his plan?
Mourinho defended his tactical decisions and substitutions, arguing that maintaining the same physical intensity throughout the match was impossible against such a fiercely competitive team.
He said: "I knew they would run out of energy. It's impossible to play 90 minutes at that pace. I made the changes I thought I had to make."
He added: "If we had started the match with the eleven players who finished the game, they would have scored five goals against us. It was impossible to withstand a team with that intensity."
The Real Madrid coach continued, explaining his philosophy of managing the game: "There are different times, and sometimes a coach is foolish because he thinks the wrong way, and other times he's very good because he thinks the right way."
Mourinho admitted he hadn't planned the comeback from 3-1 down to 4-3, but he knew he needed to make adjustments in the final minutes, citing the difficulty some Roma players faced in maintaining man-marking throughout the match.
"I wouldn't say I prepared everything to go from 3-1 to 4-3," he said, "but I thought we had to change a few things in the final minutes."
"I told them it's very difficult for a player like Mancini to withstand man-marking for the entire match while carrying a yellow card. The way they play creates a lot of difficult situations," he added.
He concluded his remarks on the substitutions with a touch of irony: "When Hermoso ran out of steam, Indric came on. Give me some credit, I did something right."
