Perez offers Mourinho support - Real president defends under-fire coach

Posted Monday, September 26, 2011 by skysports.com

Perez offers Mourinho support - Real president defends under-fire coach
Mourinho: Has the full backing of his president despite the concerns of some members

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has publicly backed manager Jose Mourinho, branding him the 'best coach in the world'.

The Real supremo used the club's general assembly to defend the Portuguese tactician from a growing number of critics.

Mourinho has attracted headlines for his actions inside and outside of the dugout during his time in Madrid, with a clash with Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup seeing him widely condemned for jabbing a finger in the eye of Tito Vilanova.

A number of Madrid members have expressed concern at having such a temperamental character at the helm, with the club's global reputation on the line, but Perez insists Los Blancos have the best man for the job.

"We believe in this team and in the best coach in the world: Jose Mourinho," he said.

"He understands what it means to be Real Madrid's coach and he has a high level of empathy and compromise with the club.

New era

"His 'Madridismo' is unquestionable. We should remember the team wasn't even a top seed in the Champions League when this new era at the club began two years ago.

"Last season we reached the semi-finals, something that hadn't happened since the 2002/03 campaign.

"We took more points than any other side in the group stage, and were the top scoring and least scored upon team."

Mourinho was recently handed more responsibility at the Bernabeu after winning a power struggle with now-departed sporting director Jorge Valdano.

Perez added: "The experience of last season proved we needed a new and modern organisational structure at the club that would give our coach autonomy and avoid dysfunction due to the existence of a sport director general's office."