Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho spoke to the club’s official television channel after Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Fiorentina.
For their first official friendly of the summer—and their third pre-season fixture when including the two behind-closed-doors training matches played at Valdebebas—Mourinho’s men were held to a 2-2 draw by the Italian side.
Despite the result, the Portuguese coach was largely satisfied with the attitude, quality and commitment shown by his players, especially considering the physical condition of the squad and the number of first-team players still unavailable.
Speaking to Real Madrid TV after the final whistle, Mourinho explained that he had seen three different versions of his team during the encounter.
“I saw a Real Madrid with three different faces today: fresh, tired and very tired. The first one played extremely well. To be leading only 2-1 at half-time was very little considering the quality of our first-half performance. We could easily have been 3-0 or 4-0 ahead,” Mourinho said.
The former Chelsea and Inter Milan coach acknowledged that the match became much more difficult after the interval, particularly when Fiorentina increased their physical intensity and began pressing higher up the pitch.
“Then the match became much more physical. They started pressing us and we showed a second face. Defending inside the penalty area with two kids like Joan and Mario was not easy. They played a great match, but physically they are not yet ready to face a player as powerful as Kean.”
However, Mourinho was especially pleased with the character his side displayed during the closing stages.
“I really liked the third face. It was the face of a very tired team, but a team that managed to remain united and regain control of the game. Dumfries and Endrick had only trained for three days and played more than 70 minutes. It was a fantastic effort and something that has great value in my eyes. I thanked them for what they gave us. I liked everything.”
Mourinho also insisted that the club’s standards must remain high, even during friendly matches.
“This is Real Madrid with the players we currently have available. I told the boys before the match that Real Madrid remains Real Madrid, even in a friendly. Today, I had to field the ‘men’, in quotation marks, who were available. We only worked together yesterday and were only able to do a little organisational work.”
The Portuguese manager also praised academy defenders Joan Martínez and Mario Rivas.
“The young players who featured, Joan and Mario, have fantastic futures. Until the match became more physical, they were excellent and showed a lot of class. Of the seven available first-team players, two had only completed three training sessions.”
Mourinho also discussed Carlos Espí’s first appearance following his arrival at the club.
“Then we brought on Carlos, who is living a dream. He trained for about an hour yesterday and helped us today while discovering what it means to represent Real Madrid. I am very satisfied with the players’ work since the first day.”
La primera entrevista completa de José Mourinho tras su vuelta al Real Madrid.
— (fan) REAL MADRID FANS 🤍 (@AdriRM33) August 1, 2026
Echaba mucho de menos esto 🥹🤍 pic.twitter.com/hgmhEWOb86
Nevertheless, Mourinho admitted that working with an incomplete squad remains a concern.
“What worries me is not having the others. I would also like to work with them for three weeks, but that is not possible. On Monday, Vinicius, Brahim and Bernardo Silva will arrive. Dumfries, Carlos and Endrick will already have more training sessions in their legs, and we will continue like this until the rest of the squad returns.”
Finally, when asked about returning to the Real Madrid bench 13 years later, Mourinho remained calm and focused.
“I do not feel anything for the moment. The real matches have not started yet.”
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