Mourinho: I don't know the meaning of a honeymoon, we must keep winning to qualify

Real Madrid's coach appeared at a press conference for the media at the Stadio Olimpico, ahead of tomorrow's clash against Roma, in the second round of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

José Mourinho expressed his frustration regarding the Villarreal match, urging to watch the first minute of the game. He indirectly requested the media officer at Real Madrid to allow an Italian journalist to ask the next question.

He added regarding the officiating in the Villarreal match: "Nothing, nothing. Tomorrow is a match in the UEFA Champions League, and I have nothing to say about the league match."

When asked if he left the match angry, he replied: "I told your colleague that I don't want to comment, but I will try to make this the last time I talk about it. I invite you to watch only the first minute of the Villarreal match. If you want, we can talk on Saturday. The first minute is enough for those who know."

Regarding his confidence in referees in the UEFA Champions League compared to league matches, Mourinho said: "It bothers me when the referee's name is known in advance; even if it is supposed to be announced 24 hours before the match, we sometimes know it about three weeks beforehand. This is the only thing that bothers me. Other than that, I have confidence, and I hope everything goes well for the three teams. I have no negative feelings."

Regarding the possibility of Real Madrid playing their LaLiga matches cautiously and the difficulty of engaging in physical confrontations, he said: "I think when you ask me this question, you already know the answer, but for some reason, you don't want to say it yourself. I see that the media workers in Spain do not speak directly enough, and I mean they do not provide clear and specific opinions on positions that are beyond doubt. Four or five questions have been raised in this direction. The Italian press is certainly more interested in the match. We will meet with the Spanish press on Saturday, so it is better to move to the other side, to the Italian media."

José Mourinho spoke about deploying Federico Valverde at right-back against Villarreal: "I think the Real Madrid coach did a very good job in the Villarreal match. We found what we were looking for. I was thinking about the possibility of needing to make additional changes in the front line later, and we had many options for substitutions. I felt the need to change the nature of the right-back, and I didn't want to waste a substitution by taking off Dumfries and bringing on Trent, so I thought Fede was capable of making a difference."

He added: "As a coach, things often go wrong for me, but this time things went well. If you have more than one player like Federico, you can deploy him at full-back or in midfield. But since we only have one player like him, seeing him at full-back remains an extremely exceptional thing."

Regarding his relationship with Roma fans, who cherish him and believe he has won the love of the city in a short time, and the importance of communicating with the fans of the clubs he manages, Mourinho said: "To be myself, as I always do. The interests of the club, players, and fans always come before my personal interests, and people appreciate that. They feel they are part of it. And if I do something simple that makes them happy, that's even better. We haven't won the UEFA Champions League, but we won a European trophy, which is the UEFA Europa Conference League, and we reached another European final in the UEFA Europa League, and all these things came together. Roma fans are special people."

Regarding the match against Roma and their coach Gian Piero Gasperini, and whether the game holds special significance for him, Mourinho said: "It will be another match. If I can forget the team I am facing, and I am doing that now and will continue to do so during the match, it will be a normal match. As I said before, we have not yet felt the real pressure of the UEFA Champions League. Looking at what remains of the competition, I believe that Real Madrid and Roma will qualify. Perhaps I will return here in the Quarter-Finals or Semi-Final."

Regarding how to win against Roma, who have not lost this season, Federico Valverde stated: "We have to play well, we must play well. In our first two matches, we faced the two strongest teams in Italy; against Inter, we managed to collect three points despite the difficulties of having three players suspended. Roma is a strong team, an enthusiastic team, and certainly, returning to play a match in the UEFA Champions League at the Olimpico, with a crowd that plays, not just a crowd that comes to watch the match, but a crowd that comes to play and play to collect points, we must play very well because we have an important opponent ahead of us. It is not yet time for the pressure of the UEFA Champions League, it is not yet time for elimination; we have 8 matches to collect qualifying points, but we put pressure on ourselves because we want to win."

José Mourinho received a question from Grzegorz Milarski, a Polish television reporter, regarding the pressures surrounding him at Real Madrid, and whether the team's upcoming match represents a decisive game for his future, given what the journalist perceives as the end of the honeymoon period between the coach and the club.

Mourinho responded sarcastically to the question, saying: "You are very far away, Poland is very far away. The information reaches you, but it comes through turbulent waves."

When the journalist spoke about the end of the honeymoon period at Real Madrid, Mourinho asked in surprise: "Honeymoon what?" The reporter clarified that he meant the period when the coach is away from pressure and criticism, to which Mourinho interrupted, saying: "I know what a honeymoon is, but what do you mean?"

When a journalist pointed out that everyone is now expecting José Mourinho to achieve victories only, the Portuguese coach sarcastically replied: "Is this the honeymoon period? No, this is not the honeymoon!".

After the journalist attempted to rephrase his question and asked about his feelings before the match, Mourinho confidently replied: "As usual, I feel great, and I sleep like a baby. After the match, as always, I don't sleep, and then Thursday morning comes with a new day. Thank you very much."