Madrid, July 14 (IANS) Jose Mourinho returned to Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training centre to begin pre-season training after taking charge of the club’s first team for a second spell.

With many of Real Madrid’s first-team players, such as Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe, still at the World Cup, Mourinho will not be able to train with the full squad for some time. However, he told Real Madrid TV that work had begun long before Monday’s opening session,” Xinhua reports.

“It’s not like I arrived here today and everything starts now. We’ve been working hard for a long time with the club’s structure at different levels,” he explained.

Mourinho returns to the club 13 years after leaving in June 2013 and said he was delighted to be back.

“This feels like a mission. It’s not about worrying about myself or whether I’ll win a lot or a little. I’m here to help everyone become better: players, staff, and to create a culture of work, responsibility, ambition, and responsibility.”

“It’s not about working at Real Madrid; it’s about working for Real Madrid and that is the spirit with which I am here.”

“Obviously, I would like to have all the players here, but you have to look at it positively. It’s about getting to know the boys I’ll be working with and giving them the opportunity to get to know me,” explained Mourinho, who will include several players from Real Madrid’s B team, Real Madrid Castilla, in the early training sessions.

The team completed the first session at the Ciudad Real Madrid after undergoing medical check-ups.

The training started in the gym, and later the players, along with a group of academy players, carried out activation work on the pitch, combining physical and ball exercises. They then completed demanding possession drills under pressure and various possession exercises with finishing in small goals. Finally, they played several matches on a reduced-size field.

—IANS

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