Mourinho: Mbappe and Lautaro? They are indispensable leaders for their respective teams

On the eve of Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League league phase opener at home against his former club Inter Milan, Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho gave an interview to Sky Sport Italia.

Everyone immediately talks about the Bernabeu — the stadium where you led Inter to a historic treble and lifted the Champions League trophy, and now you will lead a new team against Inter here. Is such a destiny-filled and story-rich start something you like? Is this the kind of start you once dreamed of?

For me, at this moment, this is my home ground. However, apart from seeing it as my stadium because I am now working for Real Madrid, it has also been my stadium forever since May 2010. At the same time, for Inter, it will always be a classic stadium with iconic and symbolic significance. We are already here, and tomorrow we will stand there as well.

Of course, the obvious point is that every match is extremely important — whether for Real Madrid, Inter, or all the teams participating in this competition. However, because there are eight matches in this phase, I sincerely hope we can meet Inter again at a later stage.

So, in your view, what kind of Inter team has arrived here? You have clearly always followed Serie A closely, and even from afar you have continued to quietly watch Inter. What kind of team are they?

They are a very excellent team and an undisputed superpower. What I want to say is that this is a team with six years of deep foundations, because from Antonio Conte's time in charge, to Simone Inzaghi taking over, and now Cristian Chivu, they have always continued with exactly the same playing model, the same tactical system, and the same type of player profile.

This is a team with such understanding that they could play well even while running with their eyes closed; they have extremely high maturity, outstanding individual and collective ability, and great physical strength. For such an excellent team, the only surprising thing in recent years is that they still have not won another Champions League title.

Speaking of surprises, are you surprised to see Chivu become fully prepared so quickly and perform so well as a coach from the very beginning? He was once your player and a key member of the great Inter side you mentioned. Did you ever expect him to become a coach?

Hmm... when they were still professional players, this was indeed very difficult to predict. At that time, all their focus was on playing football, so it was really hard to see. However, later when he became Inter's reserve team head coach, I kept in close contact with him. He visited Rome several times, and we also met and exchanged ideas.

At that time, I deeply felt his passion and understood that this was truly a career he loved from the heart and wanted to devote himself to. Sometimes I also meet former professional players who become coaches after retirement, but in them I find it difficult to see the empathy and coaching passion needed to connect with such a difficult and challenging job. But I could always see that Cristian truly wanted to do this, felt very comfortable with it, and was fully capable.

That is why players who have been coached by Mourinho often praise how good you are at bringing out their maximum potential. Jude Bellingham's perfect start to this season also reminds us of his performances and position when he first arrived at Real Madrid. He himself said, 'I feel free, and I think I can give my all and perform at my best in this position.' Do you think Bellingham's position on the pitch is the key? Is this also about finding a tactical approach to perfectly integrate all the top stars in the squad, such as Vinicius and Mbappe, as you mentioned before?

No, the core and key point is making the players feel comfortable. I have always believed that players' true thoughts and feelings are more important than the head coach's personal ideas alone. Of course, during coaching there will definitely be moments when, as a coach, you must make players understand that for the team's overall benefit they need to do things that differ from their preferred style of play or things they are not particularly willing to do. However, making players feel comfortable and satisfied with their tactical roles remains a crucial foundation.

Speaking of top players with great ability, the showdown between Kylian Mbappe and Lautaro Martinez in tomorrow's match will certainly be a major attraction. In your eyes, what types of elite forwards are they respectively? From the perspective of this matchup, what kind of clash between strong opponents do you imagine?

Mbappe is Mbappe, and Lautaro is Lautaro. They are both indispensable leaders for their respective teams, but they are also players with completely different styles, and that is all. There is no need to compare them too much. However, even though Real Madrid will face the difficulty of having three key players suspended and unavailable tomorrow, once on the pitch it is still a fair contest of 11 against 11.

That is true. We are also trying to explore and predict, given the shortage of available players, which players you will select in midfield tomorrow.

It is difficult, it is really giving me a headache. I even wonder whether the person who arranged and created this round's match order and schedule might be Italian (laughs).

The final question, before saying goodbye: some public opinion says that after returning to Madrid in this new coaching stage, you seem calmer and gentler than before. Do you feel that you have changed? Returning to this 'new world' that once completely belonged to you, what are your personal feelings?

I have always been the same person from beginning to end. Even if I appear calmer and gentler on the surface, I am still the same person I have always been.