Jose Mourinho Gives His View On Real Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa
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On Wednesday night, along with 17 other games, Real Madrid will conclude their 'league phase' in the UEFA Champions League, as they face Benfica in Lisbon.
After the 6-1 win over AS Monaco last week, Los Blancos head into this game with their destiny in their own hands. Win the game, and they guarantee a top 3 position - and perhaps even top 2, depending on Bayern Munich's result away to PSV.
Not picking up all three points, it could be costly. Despite sitting in third position, the team are only three points above Juventus in 15th. There is still the possibility of finishing outside the top 5 altogether with a disappointing result.
Real Madrid face old head coach
There is plenty of narrative heading into the game in Lisbon. It looked like former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho would be facing his former player, Xabi Alonso. Instead he is coming up against another former player, in Arbeloa.
Inevitably, the recently turned 63-year old was asked about his former right-back during his press conference ahead of the match day 8 clash, to which he responded:
"Arbeloa is my boy. He's not just a former player of mine, he's one of my favourite players on a personal level. He wasn't the best player I had at Madrid, but he was one of the best men. I hope everything goes well for Arbeloa. I want Arbeloa to do well wherever he goes. I want Real Madrid to do well with any coach, so imagine Real Madrid with Arbeloa, I really want them to do well. I love Real Madrid and I love Alvaro. I only hope they do bad tomorrow."Jose Mourinho
Some kind words from Mourinho, who was also full of praise for Arbeloa's predecessor, Alonso, when asked if his sacking surprised him.
"Xabi is another one of my boys. I only have positive memories of him. I was thrilled playing against Xabi [Bayer Leverkusen vs Roma in 2023], and tomorrow I'll be thrilled playing against Alvaro. What he did at Leverkusen was a joy. What happened at Real Madrid doesn't interest me. Nothing surprises me in football. I'm sure his career will go in a different direction and he'll be very happy. He's a great coach."Jose Mourinho
Classy words from Mourinho all round. The former Real Madrid boss has come up against some of his old players in the past, but Arbeloa is only the second from his time at Los Blancos, after, as touched on earlier, Alonso back in 2023 with AS Roma.
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Tom Vinall is a sports writer covering Real Madrid On SI. Previously, he had worked at FanSided as both a contributor and site expert, covering the likes of Spurs and Bayern Munich. He has also previously written for Transfer News Live. Tom was born and lives in Bristol, South West England, and loves to listen to music as well as learning Spanish.
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