Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho hit out at his club for not backing him in the transfer market and leaving him short up front.

Despite boasting attacking resources including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, Mourinho told Thursday's La Gazzetta dello Sport that he wanted more.

"As coaches we're always unsatisfied, we always want more and for that reason I'm with those who ask for new signings," he said.

"Even if each person does it in his own way, some more introverted, others more aggresive.

"At Madrid I wanted another striker, Higuain and Benzema are not enough."

But he admitted that buying players is never easy when in charge of a big team as selling clubs inflate their prices.

What he did get was German midfielders Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, and he said he is happy with them.

"Transfer dealings are not easy with Real, if you move a finger a storm breaks out.

"These two are good players, young, and they were in the last year of their contracts.

"We paid €25 million (for the pair), that's a competitive price."

Despite the embarrassment of playing riches at his disposal, Mourinho's Real started the season with a 0-0 draw against Real Mallorca and immediately came in for some harsh criticism from the Madridista press.

But that's something he accepts as an occupational hazard.

"This is Madrid and you can't change it. If you can't live with this pressure it's best not to accept (the job).

"At this stage of my career it was the best time for such an experience.

"After Chelsea and Inter Milan, after 10 years of success and big clubs, after a demanding league such as Italy, I have the right age and maturity."

And what he's already realised is that no teams are going to come out and attack his and give them space to get in behind their opponents.

"There's an elementary reality, we're playing against teams that keep things tight and try to hit us on the counter-attack.

"Even in a friendly playing Real is like a World Cup final.

"This summer, to protect a 1-1 draw a coach made four substitutions between the 90th and 94th minutes.

"I have to be prepared tactically for the possibility that we lose the ball and we get jeered.

"And then find some solutions to open up closed defences." The former Chelsea, Inter and Porto boss also took the opportunity to weigh into the goalline technology debate, proving in favour.

But he says first and foremost, players have to stop cheating.

Last year in the Champions League semifinal, second-leg away to Barcelona, and with Inter protecting a 3-1 first-leg lead, he had Thiago Motta sent-off after some blatant simulation by Sergio Busquets.

After challenging Motta for the ball, Busquets crumpled to the ground clutching his face and writhing in apparent agony, only to be caught on TV cameras taking a sneaky peak through his fingers to check if his play-acting had worked.

It did, Motta was dismissed for an alleged elbow but Inter still held on to reach the final, playing an hour with 10 men.

"The most important technology is the collaboration between players and referees so we can stamp out dives such as Busquets' with Thiago Motta.

"And then it's impossible not to introduce goalline technology, it's elementary, basic and avoids injustices.

"As for other things such as offsides, that's a discussion for our children."


http://www.supersport.com/football/spain/news/100902/Mourinho_unhappy_with_lack_of_strikers

This coach is a silly coach, what does he want? 20 strikers?

Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema is not enough for a coach?

I always knew this man to be a loud mouthed coach, does he want the whole striker in La liga?

Benzema and Higuain are strikers, Ronaldo isn't, and Kaka definitely isn't. Instead of stockpiling midfielders, he should've focused on buying more strikers.

^^^^

Is Messi a striker? going by your illustration, that means Barca also has just 2 strikers (Bojan and Villa).


We all know Benzema and C. Ronaldo, including Kaka have always been striking for any club they have played for, so Mourinho should not complain!

He hardly groom players on his way, always looking for short cut!!!

Lazy thing

Some people do not understand football. Benzema and Higuain=Drogba or Eto. The y are not aggressive and always wait for the ball to come to them. But Drogba and Eto work for their goals. Higuain is good but not lethal. Benzema is lazy, he needs to be more aggresive in front of goal. Remember Mou is a world class coach. He knows what he is saying. I have seen these players play a couple of times and they are not fantastic. U cannot compare Drogba or milito to hig and ben. So sorry its not possible. Even Rooney is also a better option than those two.

if he needs strikers, why did he go for Khedira and ozil?

is he a fool?

Is Aiyegbeni not a striker? WHy didnt he bid for him? What of Aghahowa?

emyworld:

Some people do not understand football. Benzema and Higuain=Drogba or Eto. The y are not aggressive and always wait for the ball to come to them. But Drogba and Eto work for their goals. Higuain is good but not lethal. Benzema is lazy, he needs to be more aggresive in front of goal. Remember Mou is a world class coach. He knows what he is saying. I have seen these players play a couple of times and they are not fantastic. U cannot compare Drogba or milito to hig and ben. So sorry its not possible. Even Rooney is also a better option than those two.

You dey sleep or wetin? didn't he know he needed strikers when the transfer window was wide opened? Higuain and Benzema not leather? oh they are wooden abi? where were you when Higuain was almost the highest goal scorer in this same La Liga? where were you when Benzema was turning the whole of Lique 1 upside down with goals?

Must you just type because you want to? you people should stop deceiving yourselves, until mourinho starts turning raw talents into world beaters, nothing in the world will make me call him a world class coach (he's a good coach, but not a world class coach).

This same Mourinho publicly said the Champions league was better than the world cup just because YOU DON'T BUY PLAYERS IN THE WORLD CUP? hehehehe, silly man!!!

tkb417:

if he needs strikers, why did he go for Khedira and ozil?

is he a fool?

You dey mind that yeye loudmouth of a coach?

All this is coded talk by JM.

He wanted a strong Drogba-like striker thats good in the air, strong on the ground and can play with back to goal. He desperately wanted[b] Fernando Llorente[/b] but Real are not ready to make the financial sacrifice to get him especially with Benzema and Higuain already on their books.

They told him to make use of Benzema, Higuain and Ronaldo as strikers and promote one of the B-team strikers as back-up.

However Jose style of play demands a battering-ram centre-forward. Although Benzema and Higuain may be great players, they are not JM style of striker.

dayokanu:

Is Aiyegbeni not a striker? WHy didnt he bid for him? What of Aghahowa?

Ahhhhhhgggrrrr, Bunch of catastrophe .

Na him be say you want make Mourinho fry plantain with petrol be that o !

honeric01:

^^^^

Is Messi a striker? going by your illustration, that means Barca also has just 2 strikers (Bojan and Villa).


We all know Benzema and C. Ronaldo, including Kaka have always been striking for any club they have played for, so Mourinho should not complain!

He hardly groom players on his way, always looking for short cut!!!

Lazy thing

Kaka, a striker? What club? When?
Maybe Ronaldo in some form but not Kaka.

What JM is talking about here is an out-an-out old school centre forward like Drog, Torres and co. Someone that can lead the line.
Real Madrid's formation is different from Barca's and their style of play is different.

Barca tend to play with 1 up top with two supporting from the flanks
Real play mostly with 2 up front.
I can undestand where he is coming from but he only has himself to blame for not getting the striker he wants.

chamotex:

Kaka, a striker? What club? When?
Maybe Ronaldo in some form but not Kaka.

What was Kaka doing while in AC Milan? catching ball or what? he is a natural midfielder but always used as a striker/supporting, so don't ask that question again.

chamotex:

I can undestand where he is coming from but he only has himself to blame for not getting the striker he wants.

So why is he making noise? if he knows what he's doing, he'd realize that Higuain is another rugged striker out there, Higuain is stronger and more hungry for goals than Millito this same Mourinho used while in Inter.

honeric01:

What was Kaka doing while in AC Milan? catching ball or what? he is a natural midfielder but always used as a striker/supporting, so don't ask that question again.

Kaka was never a striker at AC Milan . . . moreover you said he has always been striking for every club.
Kaka played behind Sheva at Milan and also plays behind SHeva and Pipo.

Don't confuse a supporting striker with an Attacking midfielder . . . 2 different positions.

Sneijder plays the same role . . . . is Sneijder also a striker?

honeric01:

So why is he making noise? if he knows what he's doing, he'd realize that Higuain is another rugged striker out there, Higuain is stronger and more hungry for goals than Millito this same Mourinho used while in Inter.

Do you know whether he fancies Benzema or not?
Maybe, for him right now, Higuain is the only stiker in his squad right now.
He prolly couldnt get who he wanted.

Mourinho never cease to amaze me

He gave the impression of desperately needing a striker yet he splurged the club's finances on midfielders. . . .classic case of misplaced priorities.

He would have easily acquired one or two striker(s) of his choice if he had made it his top priority.

He will probably use this as an excuse should madrid fail to meet Perez and the fans expectations this season.

chamotex:

Kaka was never a striker at AC Milan . . . moreover you said he has always been striking for every club.
Kaka played behind Sheva at Milan and also plays behind SHeva and Pipo.

Don't confuse a supporting striker with an Attacking midfielder . . . 2 different positions.

Sneijder plays the same role . . . . is Sneijder also a striker?


Do you know whether he fancies Benzema or not?
Maybe, for him right now, Higuain is the only stiker in his squad right now.
He prolly couldnt get who he wanted.

Nah, he was a striker to them because they mostly used one striker, so he was serving as a striker and that was what he was.

Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso and Ambrosini were the midfield marshals then, Kaka was like a striker to the man in front (Pato was still small then, so they preferred Andriy Shevchenko).

Kaka was striking for them i repeat, the stats are there to show how many goals he got whiling playing that position.

Take note, i am NOT saying Kaka is a NATURAL STRIKER, but he mostly played as one (supporting striker).

Milan
Kaká and Brazilian President Lula.

The steady European interest in Kaká culminated in his signing with Italian club AC Milan in 2003 for a fee of €8.5 million, described in retrospect as "peanuts" by club owner Silvio Berlusconi.[12] Within a month, he cracked the starting lineup, and his Serie A debut was in a 2–0 win over Ancona. He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances that season, as Milan won the Scudetto and the UEFA Super Cup.

Kaká was a part of the five-man midfield in the 2004–05 season, usually playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Andriy Shevchenko. He scored seven goals in 36 domestic appearances as Milan finished runner-up in the Scudetto race. Despite Milan losing the 2004–05 Champions League final to Liverpool on penalties, he was nonetheless was voted the best midfielder of the tournament.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kak%C3%A1


Sneijder's role is the role seedorf played, not the one Kaka played.


And he stopped him from getting more strikers when the market was opened for business? what was he doing when his mates were busying trading?

He's just looking for an excuse to justify the failure that's CERTAINED for him.

honeric01:

Nah, he was a striker to them because they mostly used one striker, so he was serving as a striker and that was what he was.

Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso and Ambrosini were the midfield marshals then, Kaka was like a striker to the man in front (Pato was still small then, so they preferred Andriy Shevchenko).

Kaka was striking for them i repeat, the stats are there to show how many goals he got whiling playing that position.

Take note, i am NOT saying Kaka is a NATURAL STRIKER, but he mostly played as one (supporting striker).

Fair enough.
He mostly played behind Sheva and Pipo in those days anyway cos Ancelotti usually plays a diamond formation.
Kaka was at the top of the diamond with Pirlo at the bottom and Seedorf and Gattuso on either sides.
Ambrosini was not a regular until Kaka left.

If you read my initial post, I said he only had himself to blame for not signing a striker.
I'm sure he tried to but you know JM is very stubborn.
Personally, I  don't think he fancies Benzema but lets see how the season plans out sha.

Nowadays you don't really need a NATUAL STRIKER to win football matches anyway.
I'm sure they can cope till January . . . .if not Yakubu is available on a free

chamotex:

Fair enough.
He mostly played behind Sheva and Pipo in those days anyway cos Ancelotti usually plays a diamond formation.
Kaka was at the top of the diamond with Pirlo at the bottom and Seedorf and Gattuso on either sides.
Ambrosini was not a regular until Kaka left.

If you read my initial post, I said he only had himself to blame for not signing a striker.
I'm sure he tried to but you know JM is very stubborn.
Personally, I  don't think he fancies Benzema but lets see how the season plans out sha.

Nowadays you don't really need a NATUAL STRIKER to win football matches anyway.
I'm sure they can cope till January . . . .if not Yakubu is available on a free

hEHEHEHE, Yakubu, hehehehe, Obuke dey too, hehehe, well, that man should not waste La liga's slot in the UCL oo, else na curse i go curse am.

Don't understand his criticism of his club so early,especially when he has the kind of players he does at his disposal.
His transfer dealings this summer contradict this outburst.Especially when he had enough time.
I know he secretly doesn't like Benzema and plans to freeze him out,but Higuain and Ronaldo should be able to carry the offensive load.

Very bizarre early criticism of Jose here. What's wrong with him saying the 2 strikers he has at his disposal not being good enough. Surely he is better placed than any of us here to say how good his players are?

^^^
at what point did he discover he needed strikers?

how come hes lamenting when the transfer window was shut?

did he not buy midfielders?

De Maria, Khediara and Ozil

why didnt he buy a striker?

Maybe he tried and failed. How do we know? Even Drogba was linked ( just like Ashley Cole was heavily linked as they needed a LB but that's a different story) But it just didnt happen. He bought midfielders because he also needed some and also he got Carvalho and even tried to bring in Maicon and it didnt happen. He didnt exactly splash out on Khedira and Ozil did he? those 2 cost about £22M. It was always going to be tough to bring in top players as their prices would almost double soon as real were interested.

Mr_TA:

Maybe he tried and failed. How do we know? Even Drogba was linked ( just like Ashley Cole was heavily linked as they needed a LB but that's a different story) But it just didnt happen. He bought midfielders because he also needed some and also he got Carvalho and even tried to bring in Maicon and it didnt happen. He didnt exactly splash out on Khedira and Ozil did he? those 2 cost about £22M. It was always going to be tough to bring in top players as their prices would almost double soon as real were interested.

The question is:
Why is he complaining/why is he unhappy?
He had the entire summer to address that paucity!
Or is he giving excuses already?

Mr_TA:

Maybe he tried and failed. How do we know? Even Drogba was linked ( just like Ashley Cole was heavily linked as they needed a LB but that's a different story) But it just didnt happen. He bought midfielders because he also needed some and also he got Carvalho and even tried to bring in Maicon and it didnt happen. He didnt exactly splash out on Khedira and Ozil did he? those 2 cost about £22M. It was always going to be tough to bring in top players as their prices would almost double soon as real were interested.

So whose fault should it be? the president or him being the coach? that whiner should quit whining jare

honeric01:

So whose fault should it be? the president or him being the coach? that whiner should quit whining jare

This is personal

Why should he not bemoan or should he not express his unhappiness at his squad?
He had the summer to address it but you must remember Real Madrid are not like any other club.
The signings are NOT made by the manager, they are made by the President. It has been that way for many years. The manager can say what types of players he wants and which players but in the end its the board that will handle it. Pellegrini bemoaned not signing the defenders he wanted as did Capello and even Del Bosque. You know what they were told? "we dont buy defenders we grow them".(admittedly they reluctantly bought some later)

^^^^^^
He had three months to ger a striker over the summer.He has no excuse.I believe the Real board woulda given him anything he wanted since they chased him long and hard last season.
He has no one to blame but himself.A bad workman blames his tools.
He signed midfielders,but no striker.When he realised it was late,he tried to use the Madrid media to get Adebayor/Drogba.Unfortunately it didn't work.
I've always questioned his signings,particularly at Chelsea. . .but this is a case of crying for no one in particular's attention.He has enough at his disposal already,so it's strange he's talking like this.

jalether:

This is personal

Wetin i do?

Mr_TA:

Why should he not bemoan or should he not express his unhappiness at his squad?
He had the summer to address it but you must remember Real Madrid are not like any other club.
The signings are NOT made by the manager, they are made by the President. It has been that way for many years. The manager can say what types of players he wants and which players but in the end its the board that will handle it. Pellegrini bemoaned not signing the defenders he wanted as did Capello and even Del Bosque. You know what they were told? "we dont buy defenders we grow them".(admittedly they reluctantly bought some later)

Hehehehe, okay, who should we blame if they fail to win anything at the end of the season?

We all know Mourinho won't work in a place where he wouldn't be allowed to sign whoever he wants, so abeg spare me all these yarn from you jare. (DID THEY FORCE HIM THERE? DIDN'T HE KNOW ALL THESE SERMON YOU ARE PREACHING BEFORE HE DECIDED TO JUMP ON A MOVING TRAIN?)

I expect a short answer, please spare me the sermon.

I'm not making any excuses for Jose. Of course the buck stops with the manager so if they dont have a successful season it'll be his fault.

That does not mean there is anything wrong with him complaining about the quality of the strikers at his disposal when aligned with the clubs ambitions.

Every single manager's signings can be questioned when up to close scrutiny. What you cannot argue with is Jose's record and achievements.

Any good coach should be able to find the best way to work with whatever hez got, and in JM's case, hez got a lot.
If he cannot find an effective way to combine the skillz at his disposal and produce goals, he should pack his stuff and walk.

Thing is, those midfielders of his are near-experts at finding the back of the net.
All he has to do is find the ones that'll team up best with the strikers hez currently got, and voila!
Let one midfielder's strength complement a striker's weakness. That word doesn't only apply in relationships.

And this is the man rumored to take over from SAF. The thought is semi-depressing.

If I was a manager and I wanted to buy a couple of top strikers and I didn't succeed, why can't I come out and say I'm unhappy with my striking options?

The strikers he wanted might not be available and he might not want to buy strikers outside of his shortlist . . . this is as simple as ABC.
Don't know why everyone is at his throat.

If I wanted Torres but couldn't get him, I wont panic at the last minute and decide to buy Yakubu, will I?
You dont expect him to buy any striker just to make up the numbers.

Like someone already said . . . . in Madrid, most of the signings are made by the President.
What evidence do we have that Ozil and Khedira were actually wanted by JM . . . Madrid buy any outstanding player they want after every season sort of.