Ahead of the match against Lecce, the Giallorossi coach complained some more about the issues related to the recent controversies and the injured players.
“Renato and Paulo (Sanches and Dybala) are back in the squad, but they are not in great condition. According to the medical department and the fitness trainers, they are risk-free. And that’s what we needed to hea. They can help us, while all the others who are out will remain out,” said José Mourinho.
“When you say that we are missing 5 key players, it’s obvious we are in trouble. If you say Inter are missing 5 key players, it’s no problem as they have another five at any time, and I can say the same about Milan, Juventus and Atalanta. We don’t have that luxury.
An injured player is different from someone with a clinical history. If a player gets injured every time, it takes the medical and coaching staff feel way more to recover. Look at Gareth Bale, for example, his clinical history didn’t allow him to be the same Bale all the time. Roma has several players with a clinical history, which I’m happy to have at certain times, but when they are not available, they are not. I have Dybala and Renato Sanches and Smalling. They have the same problem, and I am very happy when they are available,” added Mou.
Mou returned to the Inter match again: “I always give my best, which is why I didn’t respond to the criticism on Sunday (against Inter). I am very demanding of myself. The worst thing for me is not being satisfied with myself. After the Inter match, I didn’t have that feeling; it was the opposite. We were focused until the very end. If we had that bit of luck, we could have made it 1-0 with Cristante. Then we conceded a goal that should have been avoided, but the guys played well even being sanctioned with yellow cards for a long time. Roma, with half a squad, stayed in the game until the end.”
Regarding the schedule, Mou added, “We know the number of matches we play before the start of the season. If we have six central defenders, we can play every 3 days because we can rotate. If we have 4 that become 3, and then 2, everything becomes more complicated.
But I understand that in football, there are people who have arrived with a parachute; it’s not their world (hitting at Serie A chiefs). They come for status, politics, or a nice suit. To these types of people, who should be respected for their status, it’s not worth commenting. They don’t know what it’s like to play two days later or what makes a difference. Or maybe they know and pretend not to know, which is more serious.”
“If our club doesn’t ask these questions publicly, it’s always me who has to stand in front of you and talk about the same things, and maybe I shouldn’t. In this specific case, maybe I’m wrong, but for me, there is a football grammar, and an excuse is something used afterward, and I’ve been talking about it since the start of the season.”
“The same will happen next week. Lazio plays in Europe on Tuesday, we play on Thursday, and we can’t play the derby on Monday because of the break. Here, I say that we have been unlucky; they will have an advantage, but there’s no criticism. But with everything that has happened until today and what will happen afterward, Roma is truly penalized.”
