Real Madrid kicks off its Champions League campaign against Inter Milan on Tuesday with new coach Jose Mourinho aiming to win the trophy for a third time.
Mourinho is back at Madrid for a second spell after last managing the club from 2010-13.
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He won La Liga and the Copa del Rey during that time, but not the Champions League. Since then Madrid has gone on to dominate European club soccer's biggest trophy, winning it six more times and extending its record to 15 titles.
And while another Champions League would see Mourinho join Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Zinedine Zidane and Bob Paisley on three wins, he doesn't feel the need to make up for the fact that he was unable to lift the trophy when he was last at Madrid.
“I finished my work here in 2013. We won what we won, and we lost what we lost. We gave everything, but it’s a closed chapter,” Mourinho said. “This has nothing to do with the past, absolutely nothing. These are two different moments in Real Madrid’s history.
“In 2010, they hadn’t reached the quarterfinals in years, nor had they played a semifinal in many years. Now, it’s a Real Madrid that has won in the last 10 years. These are two different moments, but it doesn’t change my way of thinking. If you ask me if I’m excited about winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, obviously yes, but completely separate from any context of not having achieved it previously.”
Madrid hosts Mourinho’s former club Inter at the Santiago Bernabeu. Mourinho won the Champions League with Inter in 2010, having previously won with Porto in 2004.
“I want to win, and there won’t be time to think about things from a very beautiful past,” Mourinho said.
There are five other games across Europe on Tuesday in the opening round. Manchester City travels to Porto, while Borussia Dortmund hosts Villarreal. Club Brugge opens at home against Aston Villa, AEK Athens hosts Austrian team LASK and Lille faces Real Betis.
Two-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain enters the competition on Wednesday at home against Slovan Bratislava.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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See AP’s full soccer coverage here
