Mourinho vows the best Vinicius is coming, and stands up for Mbappe

Some lines stick with you longer than any scoreline. This one from Mourinho is a good example: "the Vinicius who used to win games on his own hasn't shown up yet." Coming from Real Madrid's own coach, it doesn't sound like an excuse. It sounds like a promise.

The Portuguese coach fronted up before the game against Rayo Vallecano and once again found himself fielding questions about the criticism surrounding the Brazilian. Vinicius has spent months under the microscope, with fans and pundits demanding sharper finishing and more efficiency, the version of him that used to settle matches by himself. Mourinho doesn't dodge that, but he's not ready to bury him either.

"The one from last year, when the Bernabeu was scared against Benfica and he finished off the tie," the coach recalled, pointing to that night when Vinicius stepped up to settle the nerves of an entire stadium. That's when he laid out the core of his argument: the winger's best version, in his view, is right around the corner.

The best Vinicius is going to arrive soon. In an era of data and statistics, he's very close to his top speed. He's broken his own records in high intensity sprints, in balls recovered, in balls recovered in the final third. It's comingJose Mourinho

Then came the deeper point. Mourinho reached for a Portuguese proverb to explain why Vinicius draws so much heat: "you only throw stones at trees that bear fruit." From there he posed the question that, in his mind, sums it all up: how many Champions League titles has Vinicius won with Madrid? How many goals has he scored over these years? For the Portuguese coach, that track record outweighs any rough patch.

Mbappe, the other name under scrutiny

Vinicius wasn't the only one Mourinho defended in the press room. Kylian Mbappe's name also came up, with some questioning his defensive contribution. Mourinho didn't hold back:

I've seen the team down to 10 men in the closing minutes, defending down the left with Cucurella running on empty, with Kylian running on empty, and I saw it. I saw Kylian defend like an animal. As a coach, I value that enormouslyJose Mourinho

The coach went further, taking aim at those who, in his view, would rather stay quiet about what they see: "There are people who know as much about soccer as I do who have seen it too, but they don't say it."

The press conference wrapped up with a topic that has nothing to do with Real Madrid's daily grind: the host venue for the next World Cup final. Mourinho, without hesitation, threw his support behind Lisbon. "I'd like it to be Lisbon. And my answer isn't because I'm Madrid's coach: if you can play in a legendary, historic stadium where some of the greatest players in history once played, it should be here. And I'd say the same if I were Benfica's coach," he said, true to his direct, no filter style.