Real Madrid President Florentino Perez instills faith on Mourinho in General Assembly 2011

Backing from the Boss: Florentino Perez and Jose Mourinho

Coming on the heels of a lackluster start to the Los Blancos in the la liga, the tactics of Jose Mourinho, Manager of Real Madrid CF, was the talking point at the Real Madrid General Assembly 2011. While many supported Mourinho’s attitude and his work ethics, a few questioned his approach to the sport which has hampered the purity of the beautiful game. However, Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, expressed his support for Jose Mourinho, thereby instilling faith on the beleaguered coach.

Florentino Perez

Jose Mourinho had faced the wrath of the club’s fans for pinpointing Sami Khedira for his side’s loss to La Liga minnows Levante, last week. Apart from this, Mourinho was heavily criticised for jabbing a finger into the eye of the Pep Guardiola’s assistant Tito Vilanova during a mass brawl at the Spanish Super Cup match against Barca last month, for which he faces disciplinary proceedings. Several Club members expressed their displeasure on this regard. Even Mr. Florentino Perez expressed his disappointment on the eye poking incident, saying that ‘it was not good’.

While delivering his speech in he meeting, Rafael Vareos, a club member, said:

“If you have a tiger as your mascot you have to keep him tied up to stop him eating your neighbour’s daughter. Mourinho is not a Madridista he is a Mourinhista” .

Juan Miguel Nogues, another club member, added:

“Mourinho’s is not the image of the Madrid family. It’s not the one Madrid should be projecting.”

Delivering the inaugural address of the General Assembly, Club President Florentino Perez expressed confidence on Mourinho, by proclaiming that he is still the best manager in the world. He said,

“We have the best coach in the world. But some people are being influenced by the media. Open your eyes! Most of your complaints come straight from the sporting press in Barcelona!”

Florentino Perez also touched on several aspects regarding Real Madrid. Here are the excerpts of his speech:

On Jose Mourinho:

“We believe in this team and in the best coach in the world: Jose Mourinho. He has assumed what it means to be Real Madrid’s coach and he has a high level of empathy and compromise with the club. His Madridismo is unquestionable. We want the dream of winning our tenth European Cup title to come true soon.”

On the team:

Real Madrid team clad in their new red jersey

“We should remember the team wasn’t even a top seeder in the Champions League when this new era at the club began two years ago. Last season we reached the semifinals, something that hadn’t happened since the 2002/03 campaign. We took more points than any other side in the group stage, and were the top scoring and least scored upon team.”

On winning the Copa del Rey, last season:

Florentino Perez poses with the Copa Del Rey trophy

“We had one of our best moments in recent years in Valencia. It was one of the most intense finals in the competition’s history and more than 20,000 of our supporters were there for us. Madridistas were very excited about winning the title and the team took it at the same stadium where it last won it 18 years after ago.”

On the new arrivals at Real Madrid CF:

Real Madrid's new signings: Sahin , Altintop , Callejon , Varane and Coentrao

“We’ve increased the talent of the squad, rejuvenating and improving it. I hope we can soon enjoy the talents of Sahin, who was the Bundesliga‘s best player last season, and Altintop, who came from the same league. Callejon is one of the fastest players in La Liga and a youth teamer with a solid present and future. Coentrao is a great addition to the team.”

On Real Madrid’s Virtues and Ethics:

“Our essence makes us better ourselves. We have the best players in the world and they are reinforced by the academy. We’re on the right path, sailing the right course; we’ve laid the groundwork for it to be so. The pursuit of victory is part of the identity of this team and we want the dream of winning our tenth European Cup title to come true soon.We must watch out for those who endanger the conditions we’ve inherited throughout generations: solidarity, respect for fair play, fight against racism… We are all aware of our Madridismo and it’s important that we work for it.”

On the reformations to be done in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium:

Santiago Bernabeu

“The stadium must be subjected to constant evolution and must become a symbol for state-of-the-art facilities and excellence. We want to transform it and make of it a leading example for modernity, for sports, for Madridismo and for the city of Madrid. We want it to be a building whose singularity, quality and beauty goes beyond our borders. We want to provide it with enveloping skin that will serve to roof all seats so that our supporters won’t suffer from adverse weather conditions while watching a game. We will enlarge and improve our museum and the Stadium Tour, which currently have 750,000 visits per year, making it a strong touristic destination in the centre of town. We will use state-of-the-art technology and renewable energy sources. An underground parking lot for 1,000 vehicles will be constructed, but we will also keep the 500 capacity parking lot on the corner of Concha Espina and Padre Damian. To sum up, this is a unique and exceptional opportunity. The stadium of our dreams must become the best stadium in the world and must have universal appeal.”