Mourinho gives nothing away on defenseive options

 MADRID, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho responded ironically to questions over who will play at left back for his side on their visit to Mallorca on Sunday night.

Real Madrid are still without full backs Alvaro Arbeloa, Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao for the game and following Michael Essien's less than convincing display in the midweek defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, questions have been raised over whether or not B-team defender¹ Nacho Fernandez should have the chance to prove his worth, especially as Essien could be needed to cover for the injured Sami Khedria in midfield.

However, when asked about his options in defense², Mourinho was in typical evasive form.

"Gonzalo Higuain is going to play at left back," he said. "He is fast, he is strong, he can cross with his left foot and he's going to play at left back. Essien will either play in midfield or not at all," added the Madrid coach, clearly joking about the forward.

Mourinho confirmed that Sergio Ramos would play after having suffered muscle problems in the past two days.

"He is in condition to play. He is thinking of the good of the team. He is in condition to play, he wants to play and he is going to play," he said, before explaining why Nacho was unlikely³ to play.

"Nacho is a problem, he plays as a central defender for the B-team (Castilla) and he is left back here. It is a problem because there should not be contradictions⁴ in the forming of players. He is not going to play in central defense for the first team but for the team he usually plays for, that is his role," commented Mourinho, effectively passing the back to B-team coach Jose Alberto Toril.

Finally he discussed Sunday's rivals⁵, commenting that under coach Joaquin Caparros, Mallorca was always a difficult place to visit and Mallorca were a complicated⁶ side to defeat.

"If you win or lose there you do so with problems and Sunday's game will not be far removed from those characteristics," he concluded.

1 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 unlikely   

adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的

参考例句：

• It was very unlikely that he would do that.他不见得会做那种事。
• It is unlikely that she will come. 她不大可能来了。

4 contradictions   

矛盾( contradiction的名词复数 )； 否认，反驳

参考例句：

• It has increased the contradictions between the two superpowers. 这加剧了两个超级大国之间的矛盾。
• The incident increased the contradictions between the two countries. 这一事件加深了两个国家之间的矛盾。

5 rivals   

竞争对手( rival的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• one of the President's chief rivals 总统的主要政敌之一
• She always managed to outsmart her political rivals. 她总有办法表现得比她的政敌智高一筹。

6 complicated   

adj.错综复杂的，麻烦的，结构复杂的

参考例句：

• The poem is so complicated that I cannot make out its meaning.这首诗太复杂，我理解不了它的意思。
• This is the most complicated case I have ever handled.这是我所处理过的最为复杂的案子。