Jose Mourinho
is under the spotlight again, as according to Spanish newspapers, Marca and La
Vanguardia, his relationship with Castilla’s (Real Madrid’s B Team) coach, Alberto Toril, is far from good.
In the
press conference the evening before Madrid’s Wednesday night Copa del Rey clash
against Alcoyano, Mourinho however projected himself as being the coach that
has given youngsters a chance in the first team.
“The
criticisms towards me make no sense as I am the champion of giving players
their debuts” he said to defend himself.
There
is however a twist to this statement in that even though he has given the
opportunity to some young players to make their Real Madrid debut, some people
are saying it’s not about quantity, it should be about quality. If we look at
the facts, in more than two years in charge, Mourinho has given 14 different
young players debuts for the first team, of whom only five have played more than
once (Adán - seven, Morata – three and Joselo, Jese & Nacho - two each).
The remaining nine players haven’t played more than 15 minutes with the first
team.
In
recent times, a debate has opened up between arch rivals Real Madrid and
Barcelona “Cantera v Cartera” (Reserves/Youth players v Wallet). Both teams
have resorted to buying players in the past years, however Barcelona have
clearly put more trust in their young players, most notable Isaac Cuenca, who
played a total of 1,340 minutes last season, 527 more minutes than the combined
time spent on the pitch by Mourinho’s debutants.
When
you look at the players that have come up through the Real Madrid ranks: Juan
Mata, Soldado, and Negredo (to name a few) it is evident that in recent years
Real Madrid have failed to hang on to many great players that have gone on to
win International honours with Spain whilst representing other clubs. This does
not reflect well on Mourinho and his youth policy and could yet contribute to
seeing the Portuguese make one of his infamous swift exits.
Source: DSG
