Jose Mourinho says Vinicius Junior will need time to recover full fitness after making his first appearance for Real Madrid in pre-season, while Bernardo Silva must improve physically before he can reach his best level.
Real Madrid beat Hungarian side Ferencvarosi 2-1 in a friendly at the Groupama Arena in Budapest on Saturday. Mario Rivas opened the scoring for the Spanish club before Carlos Espe doubled their advantage, while Kenan Kodro pulled one goal back for Ferencvarosi.
Vinicius Junior and Bernardo Silva both made their first appearances for Real Madrid during the current preparations. The pair came on as second-half substitutes after returning late to training following their involvement at the World Cup.
Mourinho said Vinicius’ new contract was an important source of encouragement for both the player and the club.
“The most important thing is the renewal. The contract renewal is, of course, a source of happiness for him, but it is also a source of happiness for all of us,” Mourinho said in comments released by Real Madrid.
The Portuguese coach stressed that neither player had been able to complete much training before the match.
“They have had few training sessions, both him and Bernardo, and they are players who entered the match after having trained for only two weeks,” he added.
Mourinho said the fatigue experienced by Vinicius and Silva was to be expected after their limited preparation.
“They played while feeling tired and exhausted as a result of the effort and the work we have been doing. I did not expect Vinicius today to take the ball, run 50 metres with it and score a goal,” he said.
The manager believes Vinicius will gradually regain his sharpness and expects him to be in better condition for Real Madrid’s next friendly against Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday.
“This process takes its time, and he will certainly be in a better condition next Wednesday,” Mourinho said.
Silva, who recently joined Real Madrid from Manchester City, was also used as a substitute but was unable to perform at full physical intensity. Mourinho said the midfielder’s technical qualities remain highly valuable to the team.
“Bernardo is a very important player. He is the type of player who completely disconnects mentally and does nothing during the holiday, and he came back with much lower physical fitness, which needs to improve,” Mourinho said.
“But Bernardo is a great player who gives us an excellent way out with the ball, whether he plays in a deeper position or in midfield, in the number six or number eight role. During the match I saw that he lacked physical strength, so I moved him into the number 10 position and brought on Sestero to give us more stability there. The number 10 position is another role where Bernardo feels comfortable.”
Mourinho added that Silva’s ability to operate in several positions would be particularly useful as Real Madrid attempt to work with a small squad.
“He is the type of player who can play in three or four positions, and that is excellent for any coach,” he said.
“That is especially important because we want a small squad of only 20 players, as well as injured players such as Rodrygo, Militao and Ferland, whom we will not be able to recover in the coming weeks.”
