- In terms of the footballing aspects, have you now formed an idea of how your Real Madrid team is going to play? What style of play are we going to see?
As I said on the day of my unveiling, to a large degree the players you have influence how you're going to play. We have attacking players, so our idea of play will be offensive. You have to draw a distinction between style of play and formation. Many people believe that the players' position on the pitch, 4-4-2, 4-3-3, is a style of play and that's not the case. Our style of play will be based on playing attacking football, having possession of the ball whenever we can, attacking by moving the ball quickly, looking not to lose balance between attack and defence, showing a positive sort of aggression and adapting to a range of formations if necessary. We'll try to impose our brand of football, but we have to be able to deal with other alternatives if required. That's the difference between style of play, basically an attacking one in our case, and formation, which will be the players' position on the pitch.
- The fans are wondering whether we're going to see changes to the positions of certain players.
As we said before, my backroom team and I have been following the players and have been in contact with them from the first moment. So, firstly I have to say that the attitude to their work that they've all shown me, Sergio, Iker, Cristiano, Bale, Pepe, Varane, everyone, has been excellent. The first thing I've done is listen, find out what went well and not so well last year, their impressions, what in their opinion could be improved and what they'd like to be done. I've done the same with all the technical staff and professionals at the club and, with all that information, once all together we'll decide what's best for the team and for every one of them. They've all shown a very good attitude to their work and I've conveyed to them that the technical staff will be there for them for anything they need. In fact, we're in contact with the injured players to gain all the time we can before training starts. In terms of who'll play and where, as I said, we have to get together, train together, and then we'll decide. Contrary to what is being said, Iker, Sergio, Cristiano, Isco, Bale, none of them are "demanding" to play here or there, among other reasons because we haven't yet decided the most appropriate system with which to try to get the most out of each player. They have to feel at ease on the pitch to give us the best they can.
- Summer is a time of signings. Will there be new faces?
Of course. Danilo and Casemiro, for example, are players who are going to be important and the club is working every day to try to raise the level of this team with the odd signing that can help us to tackle the challenges ahead of us, but let me say that improving the current Real Madrid squad is immensely difficult. This team has won everything and has shown the level it has. The fans can rest assured that this squad will possess the level of competitiveness that is demanded of this club.
- There are players who are recovering from injury. Does this issue concern you?
My concern is that all the injured players get back fit as soon as possible. All coaches have that concern. From the first moment I've been clear on one thing: you have to do everything you can to make sure the players are in peak physical condition for as long as possible. To that end, I think that communication and coordination between the doctors, physiotherapists, fitness coaches and coaches is fundamental. The fitness coaches will work as one and there will be daily dialogue with the medical staff, they'll share all the information and knowledge that they have so that the players are in the best possible condition. Changes always cause upheaval, but what we all want is the best for the club, so that everything works correctly. The players must be in good shape, that's the key to it all and the new structure pursues that objective.
- You appear optimistic and seem to have clear ideas.
That's how I like it. Throughout my career, I've been lucky enough to have very capable people around me. We know what we want and we know how to adapt to different situations. Real Madrid is a great club, which has a great team and where the demands couldn't be higher, a club which attracts the attention of the whole world, so we'll try to do things with common sense, with a sense of calm, and everything will be that little bit easier. I've been hired to take on responsibilities and I will do so, we'll try to create a working environment that enables us to get results. That's why I'm optimistic, because we have the means, the ability, the commitment and the dedication that will help us to meet our objectives.