I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 809 - 58: 4 National Derbies (2)

The first of four national derbies will kick off on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.However, before the big show takes place, on Friday, a strange scene played out in the press hall of the Real Madrid Valdebebas Sports City: Mourinho attended the press conference along with assistant coach Kalanca, but Mourinho wore a long face and didn’t say a word, leaving all questions to be answered by Kalanca.

In fact, on Friday noon, the Real Madrid Club had notified reporters that Mourinho would once again skip the press conference and that it would be Kalanca who would meet with them.

In the end, Mourinho appeared in front of reporters, yet in front of 48 cameras, he remained silent, maintaining a media blackout.

Previously, Mourinho had missed 10 press conferences, but it was the first time he showed up at the conference and still stayed silent.

After Real Madrid’s press officer announced that Mourinho would attend but not answer any questions, Spanish journalists expressed their dissatisfaction with his silence.

The silent Mourinho coldly watched as 30 Spanish media outlets collectively walked out, leaving only Diario AS and economic TV reporters on site; similarly, reporters from France, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden showed their discontent by walking out as well.

The departing reporters stated that they were not protesting against Kalanca but were discontent with Mourinho’s silence ahead of such crucial matches.

Kalanca answered questions from foreign journalists, but half of the seats at the press conference were empty.

Mourinho’s actions could be seen as offending the Spanish media; it seems he is taking a bold stance to lead the team to the best possible results across the four games, as it is apparent that if Real Madrid performs badly, discontented journalists will certainly criticize him harshly.

Kalanca explained, "This is how Mourinho operates. He tells me what message to convey, and I can communicate it well." However, Kalanca did not disclose what exactly Mourinho wanted to convey.

As for his media silence, Mourinho had previously given an assertive explanation: "I will attend when I want to attend, but not because journalists want me to speak. My assistant’s duties are not as simple as handing out training bibs; they also have more important responsibilities, like attending press conferences. I will also arrange for my fitness coach and goalkeeping coach to attend press conferences."

The Real Madrid Club stated that whether Mourinho attends press conferences or maintains media silence is his freedom, and Kalanca replacing Mourinho at press conferences is the same, "This is a Real Madrid Club press conference, not a Mourinho personal press conference."

Mourinho has now become the club’s "media officer"; for instance, he can cancel previously permitted interviews by the club, and he decides which players can be interviewed and which ones can attend press conferences. Fewer and fewer Real Madrid players are appearing at press conferences; in January and February, it was mostly Adebayor dealing with reporters.

Kalanca defended Mourinho, saying, "Every time the head coach speaks, everyone makes a big fuss. In reality, we haven’t gone off the rails recently with our words. Many people say Mourinho wants to heat up the national derby, so he chooses to sit silently to avoid misunderstandings. This is not my first time speaking, and it is also his way of working." After the match against Tottenham, Mourinho’s remark, "We must practice for playing with ten men against Barcelona because I encountered the same situation with Chelsea and Inter," sparked extensive media attention.

Kalanca denied that Mourinho’s "silent act" was disrespectful to reporters and fans, saying, "What fans want is for Real Madrid to reach its current position, and they hope to see a coach who works hard every day and contributes 100% to the club; whether this coach speaks or not is not important."

Kalanca also refused to disclose Real Madrid’s starting lineup for Saturday’s match, stating that it depends on the physical condition of the players on the match day. "We have one less day to prepare than Barcelona (Barcelona played the Champions Cup on Tuesday, Real Madrid on Wednesday), and tomorrow we must see the players’ conditions and play those in the best form." Kalanca said, for such an important match, Real Madrid players need no motivation, "We are a team, currently in the exciting final stage of the season, and if you are at Real Madrid, you must believe that anything can be achieved, especially under the current circumstances, the team’s teamwork is of utmost importance."

Cristiano Ronaldo has not yet scored against Barcelona, but Kalanca stated, "Cristiano is the greatest player, he is the best player in the world, he always wants to score, so if he doesn’t score in this match, then he will in the next or the one after that. He doesn’t place his own scoring above the team’s victory. For us, the most important thing on Saturday is to get three points, regardless of playing well or not. We will field a lineup that’s fully committed to winning, fighting to keep the chance of winning the league title."

A noteworthy phenomenon is that every time Kalanca replaces Mourinho to answer reporters’ questions, Real Madrid’s performance has been quite good, sometimes even easily defeating opponents.

Some believe this may be for good luck!

...

Real Madrid will host Barcelona at the Bernabeu for this La Liga’s Spanish "national derby," opening the series of four "clash of the centuries" over the next 18 days.

Previously, this "national derby" rivalry has been played out for 109 years, 238 times, and the upcoming four "clash of the centuries" will push this rivalry to its craziest peak.

The Spanish national derby, with its century-old grievances, has seen many honors and disgraces drift into oblivion, yet many new warriors continue to step into the arena. It is a grand event, each time with different protagonists and plots, featuring not only many captivating stories and legends but also various interesting anecdotes in the history of the two teams’ contests.

This time, playing four national derbies in just 18 days is unprecedented, so will there be too many matches? Will fans experience aesthetic fatigue? Cruyff’s answer is, "No, because this is a result of the consistently excellent performance of both teams. When the season reaches its critical final stages, both teams have the potential to compete for all kinds of competition titles, proving they are top-tier teams: in the King’s Cup, in La Liga, and also in the Champions Cup."

The result of the matches is hard to predict; the general consensus in the Spanish media is that although Barcelona still poses a strong threat, it is very difficult for them to dominate Real Madrid in all four matches.

Brazilian star Ronaldo stated, "I believe that in a single match, Real Madrid is capable of defeating Barcelona. Anything can happen in a match. As a ’Real Madrid supporter,’ I must also acknowledge that Barcelona is an extraordinary team, perhaps the best team ever seen."

In the four national derbies, Real Madrid and Barcelona will first meet in the 32nd round of La Liga, and many believe that since the league title race is essentially decided, both the leaders Barcelona and the trailing Real Madrid might conserve energy to better prepare for the King’s Cup final held on April 20 at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium. From this perspective, the league match has become a precursor to the subsequent three major battles.

However, from the current situation, since this match will determine whether the league champion is declared early and will also affect the players’ mentality for the following three matches, both Guardiola and Mourinho will have their players go all out against the opponent.

Guardiola and Mourinho are advancing in different ways, as it can be said that Real Madrid and Barcelona have never had such differing coaching styles in history, with their philosophies being completely different, yet both teams currently have good results.