MADRID (AP) — José Mourinho praised new Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa ahead of Benfica’s match against his old club in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Mourinho coached Arbeloa at Madrid in the early 2010s. He called him “one of my boys” and one of the “special players” that he was in charge of during his career.
“From a human point of view, from a personal relationship point of view and an empathy point of view, Álvaro was one of my all-time favorite players,” Mourinho said Tuesday. “Obviously he wasn’t the best player that I coached at Real Madrid, but for sure he was one of the best men who played for me at Real Madrid.”
Arbeloa was promoted to Madrid’s helm two weeks ago after coaching the club’s B team. He replaced Xabi Alonso. When he was introduced, the 43-year-old Arbeloa acknowledged he was heavily influenced by the Portuguese coach, but said he would not try to be the new Mourinho at the Spanish powerhouse.
Mourinho also called Alonso one of his kids. The former midfielder also played for Mourinho at Madrid at the same time as Arbeloa.
A two-time Champions League winner, once with Porto and once with Inter Milan, Mourinho needs Benfica to beat Madrid at home on Wednesday and hope other results go its way in order for the Portuguese team to make it to the playoffs.
Benfica is 29th in the 36-team league-phase standings, five spots out of the last qualifying places. Madrid is third but still isn’t certain to finish in the top eight that automatically advance to the round of 16.
“It’s hard to predict,” Mourinho said. “No matter how many experts there are analyzing football, there is one thing that remains undeniable and at the same time fantastic, which is the unpredictability of the game. You never know what can happen.”
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