Jose Mourinho
What did you make of Carlos Vinicius?
He played well but he can do better. He is a bit of a shame still, it is not easy not to speak English so the adaption to the group, in spite of having amazing guys that try to make him feel well, is not easy. Different football, different way to play, to think, learning the way we press, learning the attacking movements. He is still in a learning process, Vinicius can be much more than this. But first match I am really happy, the only thing that was missing was a goal. But we can see he is much more than, he is not selfish, he is a good target man, he can even play with Harry Kane when his good period arrives. He can play with Harry and not just be the guy to cover him. I am very happy and the feelings over everyone in the squad are good towards him.
Ben Davies was very good tonight, how important is it that like Harry Kane playing up front as a number 10 as well as a striker, you’ve got Ben who can play as a left-back or centre-half?Yeah, a little bit like Harry and Vinicius. When we’re speaking about Vinicius being a good player too and say he only plays when Harry doesn’t, it’s good that Vinicius can play with Harry. Ben and Reguilon is a little bit the same. Can they play together or for one to play and the other one has to be on the bench? Yes they can play together and that’s a very good thing for us. Ben is very intelligent. So that’s why it’s quite easy to understand the difference between playing left-back, centre-back with five or centre-back with four. Of course left-footed there are not many centre-backs with a left-foot. Some clubs have them but the majority don’t. To have him as an option is also good because to attack, the build-up is also important.
What did you make of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of the park and the kind of leader he’s becoming out there on the pitch for you?
Yeah, (laughs), we were having some laughs at half-time because we were calling him ‘Zidane’ and saying ‘Ok Pierre, take it easy. You tried it once (the double pirouette), don’t try to do it again because that’s not you’. But fantastic player and a player the team needs. That’s why we started with him because to be honest we respect LASK and we saw the way they destroyed Sporting in Lisbon and they are much better than what they looked because we were taking it seriously. Pierre is a good player and a good leader and he’s a captain without the armband. He’s a guy who doesn’t need the armband like he had in Southampton to influence other people. Very brave. So happy with Pierre.
