Goal.com / Shinichiro Ema
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has launched a stinging attack on Johan Cruyff, after the former Barcelona boss mocked the Blancos‘ lack of homegrown talent.
The 49-year-old was in a belligerent mood as he spoke to the press on Saturday afternoon, and moved to mock the Dutchman’s ‘Dream Team’ of the early 90s.
“Would I like to have as many homegrown players as Barcelona?” he asked sarcastically. “The more young players I have in my team, the better. The more players from the academy, the better.
“But I like how you asked the question. The other day, someone who was a homegrown European champion spoke, and he won with homegrown players such as [Ronald] Koeman, [Hristo] Stoichkov, Romario and [Michael] Laudrup. Those were good homegrown players, yes.”
After belittling the Blaugrana great, Mourinho moved onto his own team and explained the future of Kaka, after the Brazil international was linked with former club AC Milan.
“Kaka is better positioned to answer a question about his future than I am. If Kaka is here on August 31, I will respect that.”
He then went on to praise Fabio Coentrao after the youngster garnered criticism for his performance against Barcelona in the Supercopa on Thursday.
“The last game Coentrao played was perfect. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect. You think that he did not do well, I say otherwise. And my opinion is the one that counts.”
Focusing on the next league game against Getafe, Mourinho said: “Sunday’s game against Getafe is the most important. Once that is done, then we’ll think about Barcelona.
“I like the [Getafe] coach Luis Garcia. I like how organised his teams are and how he puts them into practice. I admire his work.
“Since arriving in Spain, I have always had tough games against Getafe. Sunday will be the same.”
The Portuguese tactician concluded the interview by confirming that Pepe has returned from injury: “Pepe trained yesterday, and felt good,” he said. “We will decide today if he can play against Getafe.”