MOURINHO REACTS TO SAMPDORIA FRIENDLY
FOOTBALL NEWS
02/08/2017 22:42, Report by James Tuck in Dublin
MOURINHO REACTS TO SAMPDORIA FRIENDLY
Jose Mourinho spoke to MUTV and reporters after Wednesday's win in Dublin in the final match of Tour 2017, presented by Aon. The Manchester United boss reflected on another impressive performance and result and also gave his views of Nemanja Matic's first outing as a Red, his squad and the imminent world-record transfer of Neymar...
A POSITIVE PRE-SEASON
"Pre-season was good. I’m never tired to repeat how well organised it was. Big co-operation between [tour organisers] Relevent and Manchester United, so everything was really good. Everybody played, we tried many different things and didn’t care about the results – we cared about our evolution. On top of it, we had small injuries but not big ones so everybody is ready. As I was expecting, Sampdoria was perfect – consistent, good tactically. They played for a result, they are clever technically and know how to play. Now we have two days off for the boys after a long time since we started and, next week, the serious stuff with the Super Cup and the first Premier League match."
"Pre-season was good. I’m never tired to repeat how well organised it was. Big co-operation between [tour organisers] Relevent and Manchester United, so everything was really good. Everybody played, we tried many different things and didn’t care about the results – we cared about our evolution. On top of it, we had small injuries but not big ones so everybody is ready. As I was expecting, Sampdoria was perfect – consistent, good tactically. They played for a result, they are clever technically and know how to play. Now we have two days off for the boys after a long time since we started and, next week, the serious stuff with the Super Cup and the first Premier League match."
EVERYONE HAS A PART TO PLAY
"Everybody is in the plan – the plan is not to have a good team, but a good squad, with options. We have important players injured for a long time and they will be back by the end of the year, so our squad is not so big. We need options. Lukaku, Martial, Rashford – all of them are different players. We need everyone. It’s going to be good, it’s going to be fun to choose the team for every match according to the plan, the opponent, our game-plan. The squad is good and as I said a few months ago, I was hoping for four players to improve the squad. The club did a fantastic job by getting three of them, which is very difficult in the crazy market we’re in now. I thank the club. I’ll be happier if they give me four of four but they did a great effort."
MATIC NEEDS TIME
"A lonely pre-season is always a lonely pre-season – a player can be professional and work hard but football is collective and when you train alone, you train just a part of what you are as a player. The way he plays, he uses his brain but of course he needs physicality to be on top of his game. So he needs time but his experience, intelligence and genius in the way he thinks about football will help him to be ready sooner rather than later. That’s why he coped well with 45 minutes today. He makes everything so simple and is fantastic in his position."
NEYMAR NOT EXPENSIVE
"When we paid that amount for Paul [Pogba], I said he was not expensive. Expensive are the ones who get to a certain level without a certain quality. I don’t think he’s expensive for £200million, I think he’s expensive because now we’ll have more players of £60million, £80million or £100million. That’s the problem because Neymar is one of the best players in the world. Commercially he’s very strong and, for sure, Paris Saint-Germain thought about it. So I think the problem is not Neymar, it’s the consequences afterwards."
"When we paid that amount for Paul [Pogba], I said he was not expensive. Expensive are the ones who get to a certain level without a certain quality. I don’t think he’s expensive for £200million, I think he’s expensive because now we’ll have more players of £60million, £80million or £100million. That’s the problem because Neymar is one of the best players in the world. Commercially he’s very strong and, for sure, Paris Saint-Germain thought about it. So I think the problem is not Neymar, it’s the consequences afterwards."
