In many ways, the Spanish press is comparable to British tabloids. In today's press conference, José Mourinho was never asked about Espanyol. A Real Madrid TV journalist was the only one who closed up the conference by asking Real Madrid's coach about tomorrow's rivals.
The other questions were about Mourinho's future, Higuaín, and injuries.
Every European team has these injuries. These are normal problems that the players face whenever they come back from a FIFA break. The players are used to one routine, and the national coaches want to spend their time with the players right. For example, some of my players were on the field for 90 minutes against Rayo on Sunday, but they also played an 11-on-11 practice with the national team on Monday. I'm not complaining, if one day I'm a national team coach, it will be the same with me.
I'm not giving any explanations about my private life. I'm also traveling to London this Monday. I spoke to the President and the directives about my trip because I have respect for them. It's my problem, nobody else's.
Nuri Sahin played for 86 minutes with the Turkish national team, which is obviously good for the player, but raised questions about his lack of playing time on Madrid.
Real Madrid is a lot better than the Turkish national team, no offense. Real Madrid is also better than the Portuguese national team and so on. I'm sure that he will be important for us if he has the chance of growing up with the team. We can't allow ourselves to joke around, so we need to play the men that are deserving it more.
Esteban Granero is enjoying his regular starting position at the Santiago Bernabéu. Mourinho defended the Spanish midfielder.
Granero is playing because of his attitude and special personality. He is a boy that I believe Real Madrid should never lose. He should play for this team, whether that means starting or coming off the bench, for the rest of his career. If there's a player that should have enjoyed more minutes during the first half of the season, that is Esteban Granero.
Higuaín has been linked to Manchester City (in exchange for Kun Agüero), but Mourinho claimed no intention of selling Pipita.
Only an stupid coach wants to see one of the best strikers in the world leaving his club. He has not been scoring lately, but that doesn't mean he is not one of the best and he is special for me.
Lass Diarra is finally on the list for tomorrow's game against Espanyol. Follow the game on twitter, like us on facebook, and hear post-game commentary on Managing Madrid's weekly podcast.