Real Madrid coach hails the Portuguese as “one of us”
Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa is confident he can ring up Jose Mourinho and ask for assistance if he ever needs it while at the top job.
The former right-back was entrusted with the role after Xabi Alonso was dismissed earlier this month. Arbeloa played under Mourinho from 2010 to 2013 but will now face him as a coach when Madrid play Benfica on Wednesday.
He has already hailed the Portuguese as a role model and believes he can always reach out to him for aid, but has nevertheless refrained from “bothering” him.
“I said it on my first day: there will never be anyone like Jose,” Arbeloa said. “Anyone who tries to imitate him will fail, and I’ve understood that from day one. My success will be being myself.”
Arbeloa added: “I know who Mourinho is, I know what his phone must be like. “You can understand why he changes his number so often. I’ve tried to bother him as little as possible, but he’s one of those friends you can go a long time without speaking to, and then if you call him at 3am, I’m sure he’d answer.”
Madrid face Benfica in Lisbon, the site of their Champions League triumph in 2014, only a year after Mourinho had left the club.
“What the victory here 12 years ago meant deserves so much credit, but Mourinho laid the foundations for those years,” Arbeloa said. “That’s something I feel. I believe he’s always been valued within the club. And that’s why he was, is, and always will be one of us.”
