Mourinho: Chivu was my player; I will greet him before and after the match

Real Madrid are about to face Inter Milan, their first Champions League opponent of the season. Before the match, head coach Jose Mourinho expressed his desire for victory at the pre-match press conference and once again questioned the decisions made in the weekend league match.

I want to win. I could say I hope the team plays attractive football, but I don't want to lose like we did against Betis, where the performance looked good but the result was a defeat. I want to win. There are eight matches in this Champions League phase, and our goal is to qualify. I believe we can do it. But I want to treat this match as an individual game and not think about the seven matches after it. I want to win.

How is the team's mood after suffering the first defeat?

Their current state is exactly what I wanted to see. They were extremely disappointed in the dressing room after the match, but they had already recovered a lot during Sunday's training session and are completely back to normal today. After reviewing the match, we are increasingly convinced that we played well. We faced a strong team, and the defeat was accidental. Our form is good. Although we have some midfield issues for tomorrow's match, we will perform well and fight hard.

Among your Champions League experiences at the Bernabeu, which moments of disappointment and success helped you the most?

I won a Champions League title at the Bernabeu (leading Inter to the title in 2010), but I also lost a semi-final on penalties. I have had my best and worst memories at this stadium, but whether good or bad, I do not think about them now. I am simply Real Madrid's coach. Tomorrow's match is not a life-or-death battle because it decides nothing; it is neither a knockout match nor a group-stage match like before. But it is a match we will play tomorrow, every point matters, and Inter also have their own goals.

Do you think your team is strong but somewhat naive?

This is also an issue of team culture. Maybe when I said last time that the team was too naive, people misunderstood it as a negative comment. I was not criticizing the players; I was just stating an objective fact. Tomorrow you will understand what I meant, and it will be easy for you to see.

Can Alexander-Arnold play in midfield?

I won't tell you. We could talk about this topic for a long time, but I prefer to be honest with you. I know we have three players unavailable, and the algorithm happened to select this match to be played under these circumstances. Although your question is reasonable, this is simply the situation. We have three to five options. We could sit here and discuss all of them, but I will not reveal any information.

Does this match carry any special emotional significance for you?

After the match, yes, it will. But during the match, no. During the match, it is just an ordinary game.

Do you feel you owe Real Madrid a Champions League title?

No. My experience at Real Madrid has two stages. The first stage ended in 2013. There were wins and losses, and we gave everything we had. That chapter has ended. But this current experience has nothing to do with the past. These are two different periods in Real Madrid's history. Before 2010 (when I took over), the team could not even reach the quarter-finals. That season Real Madrid reached the semi-finals again after many years, and now they have won six Champions League titles... Times are different. If you ask whether I hope to win the Champions League with Real Madrid, of course I would say yes, but it is completely unrelated to the previous stage.

Does facing Inter make you especially excited?

As I said earlier, at this moment this is not an ordinary match for me, but during the match it is. I don't think that when the game is intense, people will be discussing who is sitting on Real Madrid's coaching bench. During the match I will not think about the past. Chivu will always be one of our own. I am happy for him and for what he has achieved. I will greet him before and after the match, but during the match...

How is the current Real Madrid different from the one you coached last time?

The club I have come to is called Real Madrid, and that name says everything. Real Madrid is Real Madrid. They experienced a difficult season, so they must work hard to do better. Here, everyone always wants to win, whether it is tomorrow's match or competitions in general. But we must improve our consistency and our ability to solve problems. Real Madrid must move toward a more stable level.

You said tomorrow we would understand what 'naive' means. Can you give us a hint?

I do not want to discuss refereeing standards, sorry, because I want to avoid your question. I will answer it another way. Since nobody asked, I will say it directly: we lost to Betis because we did not convert our chances into goals, that's all. But that penalty... why was it not retaken? Was it because VAR did not understand the rules... or because they did not want to? This is a question I want the relevant people to answer. Why? If VAR did not request a retake because they did not know the rules, then they should go home and stop doing this job. If they did not want a retake, the problem is even worse. Then an even worse situation appears: if VAR did not understand the rules, why did they not call the referee to the monitor for a review? It is strange.

I would like to think positively and believe that the referee did not know a player had entered the penalty area early. I would rather think that. But if that is the case, the referee cannot judge it alone; that responsibility must belong to VAR, because if the same thing happens again in weeks or months, the penalty will definitely be retaken.

I want to make it clear that we did not lose because of this, because even if the penalty had been retaken, we still could have missed it. But as Real Madrid's coach and as a football coach, I want to know why that penalty was not retaken, and I hope someone responsible can answer me. Another unreasonable thing happened in that match: the Real Madrid captain received a yellow card. Vinicius walked toward the referee, and before he had even reached him, he was shown a yellow card. I want to know why. Why are we always told that the captain has the right to politely ask the referee for an explanation? Sorry for using your question to say these things, but I wanted to express my opinion on this decision.

Is Endrick ready?

Tomorrow he can play for five minutes, or at most ten minutes, that is all. Yesterday was his first full training session with the team. He has not played since the friendly matches against Budapest or Austria, and his physical condition cannot support more than ten minutes. But because we have so many places on the bench, he was included in the squad. Maybe he should go on and play for five minutes. He is an attacking player and will play as a forward. Don't worry, he will not play as a full-back or centre-back; he will definitely be an attacking player.

How do you feel about facing Chivu?

He was my player. We worked together and experienced many things, both good and bad. Who told you that our relationship was not good? Who said that?