Real Madrid boss Mourinho hopes Brazilian playmaker will come good against AC Milan tonight
Real Madrid boss Mourinho hopes Brazilian playmaker will come good against AC Milan tonight |
| Real's star player Kaka.
pic/Getty images |
Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has commented on a number of topics ahead of the high-profile Champions League clash with Milan, including his desire to keep playmaker Kaka at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Brazilian mid-fielder has been injured all season, but has continually been linked with a move back to Serie A. 'The Special One' referred to a previous comment by Milan CEO Adriano Galliani, who had thanked Real Madrid president Florentino Perez for paving the way for Mourinho to leave Italy.
"Kaka will make the difference for Real Madrid. He will be our purchase in January at no cost and will be crucial for us," he said during a press conference on Monday.
"I will say thanks the same way Galliani said to my president. Thanks for bringing him to Madrid."
Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic worked under Mourinho at Inter and the Portuguese tactician believes the Swede will rebound from his poor season at Barcelona.
"We play against a team, not against one player, but with Ibrahimovic it is different. I know him and in Italy they know him. In Spain they did not know him - he was not happy, he had no self-esteem, he had no confidence in himself," he said, before adding he hoped 'Ibra' was happy, but that the Nerazzurri would win the Scudetto.
There was a statement in the papers quoting Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri saying he would play with 'six strikers' to show that Milan had no fear of Madrid, but interestingly Mourinho pointed out the danger man as veteran Filippo Inzaghi. "For me, they can deploy ten strikers as long as they don't play Inzaghi, then it becomes more complicated [for us]."
The official for the match will be Portuguese referee Pedro Proneca, who has shown Mourinho the red card three times in his career, but the former Chelsea boss does not believe that will change the match in any way.
"On my part, it is the same," he concluded.
