Mourinho: The world stops for El Clasico
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is excited for the upcoming El Clasico clash against arch-rivals Barcelona but insists he won't get carried away with the result.
"When Madrid plays Barcelona, the world stops," Mourinho boldly told Bein Sport.
"It is a game we love to play and it is not just us, but, surely for them also. In this sense, it is definitely more than a normal league match.
"But our goal is to win the championship. It is just three points in the end."
The previous El Clasico in the league resulted in a win for the Madrid-based side and was instrumental in Mourinho winning his first La Liga trophy.
That game was won courtesy of goals by Sami Khedira and Cristiano Ronaldo although Barca, the home side, were dominant in terms of possession and efforts on goal.
The Portuguese coach has an altogether different task at hand in the current environment, however, as Real trail Barcelona by 8 points in the La Liga table following losses to Sevilla and Getafe. But three wins on the trot against Rayo Vallecano, Deportivo La Coruña and Ajax have made the ex-Chelsea coach optimistic his side can repeat their earlier Supercopa de Espana second leg success and score a victory over the weekend.
"Winning these consecutive matches is important for our aims and our confidence.
"The team was focused (against Ajax), playing at their best with good individual movement and as a team. We played a very good match and we have to keep going.
"We cannot win every match but with this attitude, commitment, and approach to matches, individual quality becomes collective quality and it is normal that the results start to come and that the team improves."
And Sunday's match at the Camp Nou will be Mourinho's 13th El Clasico in all competitions over the past two seasons.
Changing track, he also echoed Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp's comments on introducting time-outs in football when he told CNN: "It's something that I think could improve football a little bit."
"It would allow a coach to have a relation with the players during a match.
"You could ask for a minute like the American sports have. It probably would be a solution, or give us some more freedom to walk around the touchline."
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