José Mourinho did not take long to pick a side.
Asked about the whistles that followed Vinícius Júnior around the Santiago Bernabéu during the Champions League win over Inter Milan, Mourinho’s Vinicius defence arrived wrapped in a Portuguese proverb, and it was pointed straight at the people doing the whistling.
“There is a similar proverb in Portuguese. You only throw stones at trees that bear fruit,” Mourinho said at his pre-match press conference, per Marca. “What has Vinícius done here? How many Champions Leagues has he won? How many goals has he scored? How many ties has he decided?”
The Mourinho Vinicius defence: ‘the best is yet to come’
It was not simply a character reference. Mourinho argued that the version of the Brazilian Madridistas are impatient for is on its way rather than gone for good.
“The Vinícius who finished the tie against Benfica on his own last year is coming,” he said. “He is not there yet. He is working harder than ever. In an era of data, he is very close to his maximum speed. He has broken his own records this season, for balls recovered too. He will arrive.”
That last detail matters, because it reframes the argument. The complaint from sections of the Bernabéu has never really been about effort; it has been about end product, and about a forward who at times looks like he is carrying an argument with the whole stadium onto the pitch. Mourinho’s answer is that the running is already back, and the goals follow the running.
Why the booing has got under Mourinho’s skin
Pressed on how it feels to hear his own supporters turn on one of his players, the manager was careful not to lecture the stands, but he did not hide that it bothers him either.
“I am not even in a position to have an opinion. It makes me sad, because I am very demanding of my own players,” he said, in quotes carried by Madrid Universal. “The other day I read a statement from Huijsen saying that I am a pain, that I am always on their backs. And that is true, I am very demanding. I respect a player who gives his all.”
It is a familiar Mourinho position and a deliberate one: criticism is his job, not the crowd’s. This is the second time in a week he has stepped in front of the issue after the reaction to Vinícius being booed during the Inter win, and the message has not softened.
Rayo, rotation and a refusal to name names
The rest of the press conference, staged at the Bernabéu itself, with Real Madrid’s usual routine disrupted by the Spanish Grand Prix, was spent on Saturday’s visit of Rayo Vallecano, and Mourinho gave nothing away on selection.
“I will not answer you directly. I will not say who plays and who does not,” he said when the subject of rotation and summer signing Yan Diomande came up. “It is a match we want to win and we have to go in strong. Maybe rotation is not the word, but there will be room for new energy.”
He also had warm words for Rayo coach Beñat San José, who said this week that the one man he would remove from Real Madrid is Mourinho himself: “I thank Beñat for the kind words he dedicated to me. Tomorrow I will have the chance to give him a hug.” On the refereeing committee’s backing of the penalty awarded against Los Blancos at La Cartuja, he was drier: “It does not surprise me. One of the things I admire about referees is the solidarity between them.”
Los Blancos go into the game needing a response in La Liga after that defeat to Real Betis, having beaten an Inter side who had gone 20 matches unbeaten. Raúl Asencio’s return to training gives Mourinho one extra option at the back. Whether Vinícius gets the night that quiets the Bernabéu is another matter entirely — but his manager has made it very clear he is not joining the queue of critics.
