‘I’m not Harry Potter’, says Mourinho

Jose Mourinho shrugged off the club’s draw in his opening game in charge of Real Madrid and warned fans they need to be patient, saying he is no Harry Potter.

But the Spanish giants’ new star coach said he still believes he’s the “ideal person” to give Real the “stability” it badly needs.

“I’m not Harry Potter,” he told the Spanish sports newspaper AS published Wednesday. “He is a magician, but in fact there is no magic… Magic is fiction and I live in football which is real life.”

Real signed Mourinho to a lucrative four-year contract this summer to try to stop Barcelona from winning a third successive league crown and help the club improve in Europe, with Madrid having failed to get past the quarter-final stage of the Champions League since 2004.

The 47-year-old arrived in a blaze of glory after leading Inter Milan last season to the treble of domestic league and cup in Italy as well as the Champions League. That was after successful terms in charge of Porto, in his native Portugal, and at Chelsea.

But his Real Madrid career began on a low note with a disappointing 0-0 draw at Real Mallorca at the weekend, while arch-rivals Barca thrashed Racing Santander 3-0.

Mourinho appealed for patience from fans, saying the team was still in a “construction phase.”

“Do you know how many training sessions we have had together, including with new signings? Not even 10,” he told AS.

But he said that, unlike previous Real coaches, his past success means he is not afraid of taking risks.

“My profile as a coach is different from those Madrid have had in recent years. If things go badly here and I have to go, I will have (another) club the next day…

“That personal stability that I have allows me to say I’m the ideal person to be in Madrid, because I don’t fear anything. Real needs stability and I’m here to give it.”

He said he decided to leave Inter to take on the greater challenge of coaching Real.

“If I had wanted to stay in a comfortable situation, living well and with a safety cushion, then I would have stayed on at Inter, the European champions, a team that won it all two years,” he told Spanish sports newspaper AS.

“But I decided to take the more difficult path and come to Madrid,” he said.