CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINAL LEG 2
Real Madrid 2-0 Borussia Dortmund (agg. 3-4)
Jose Mourinho reaction:
“The players gave everything and we nearly made it through. If we had scored sooner we’d have had more chance. Then, in the last period of the match, we almost did it, but in football you either achieve your aim or you don’t. The fans were fantastic, they helped a lot and believed until the end, it is a shame for them too. I hope that in the near future Real Madrid can reach the final”.
“We started very strongly and at a very high intensity in both the press and with ball movement. But the sooner you score the first goal, the more chance you have of completing the comeback. We missed good chances and in the second half we risked everything against a team that are faster than us and at another level of intensity in their movement. We took risks, they had two clear chances. At the end we played with great heart, even though we left spaces behind. When we scored the first we knew that the crowd would believe more and it is a shame that we couldn’t score a little sooner”, said Mourinho, who said that Cristiano was suffering from physical problems: “He played at 100% or at least started at 100%. If during the match got worse I cannot say because I have not spoken with him or the doctors yet, but he was fine at the start”.
“I have not made a decision because I have a contract and, more than that, because in football contracts break down, because of the respect I have for the club and the president. I want to try to win the cup final and finish second in the league and then I’ll see what Florentino Perez, my president and my friend, decides. They like me in England. They criticise me when they have to but they also give credit when I deserve it. I know that some club will want me, especially one, and in Spain there are people who hate me, many in this room, and the situation is different. It is difficult to make a decision because I like the club as it is now. We are a fantastic team, we can do great things, I want to be honest and I’ll talk at the end of the season”.
Real Madrid have won many European Cups in two different periods. Between those periods they had many years without success. Then after the second period, they had a period of failing to reach quarter-finals, or being seeded, or having credibility in the competition. Now they have recovered to reach three consecutive semi-finals. Real Madrid do not live on almosts, neither do I, and it is not my philosophy. It has been three economically fantastic seasons in the Champions League for the club because we have reached the semi-finals but we have not got the main prize because we have not won the competition. Also, from the point of view of prestige, because we have recovered that. Before we were not seeded and now we are third or fourth, but we have not won the competition and it will come. If it were with me, perfect; and if not I would celebrate it just the same because since I’ve been with the club and I have built an affection and I hope they win the Tenth (European Cup) with or without me”.
Jurgen Klopp reaction:
“It isn’t too hard to reveal what I thought during those last 10 minutes: if God wished it then we would qualify for the final,” said Klopp. “But it has to be said that it was a crazy match, from start to finish.
