At the press conference previewing the eighth and final round of the Champions League league phase, Álvaro Arbeloa was determined to beat Benfica at the Estádio da Luz, a scene of good memories for Real Madrid, but also visibly touched by the praise he received from José Mourinho. «Mourinho was more than a coach» “I didn't miss the manager's press conference, I never missed them when I was a player either. It gives me tremendous pride to hear everything he said about me. I am moved and happy because José Mourinho was, for me, much more than a coach at all levels, especially on a personal level. It has a lot of meaning and has been very important throughout my career. I consider him a great friend. I appreciate all the words. Tomorrow [quarta-feira] I will give you a big hug.” “Of course, we kept in touch. I'm not going to cheat either: I know who José Mourinho is, as his cell phone must be. You will understand why he changes his number so often, because of who he is, and I tried, in quotation marks, to bother him as little as possible. But he's one of those friends you can go a long time without talking to and call him at three in the morning, and I'm sure he'd answer the phone for anything I needed. For me, that's the relationship I have with José and, obviously, we kept in touch, but we also tried not to be too insistent.” The influence of the «special one» «I also said it on the first day: it is impossible, and I believe that there will never be anyone like José, and anyone who wants to imitate him or be like him will fail. This I also understand and have understood since day one. I think my success will be being myself and, obviously, within that being Álvaro Arbeloa there is an important part of the influence that José had on me, of everything he meant and everything I was able to learn from him at a footballing, tactical, organizational and communicative level; I tried to learn a lot from him. [...] But anyway, here we are. Tomorrow we will meet face to face. I think, in the end, the most important thing is the 90 minutes. I know he will want to win the game, I know how competitive he is, and obviously I do too. The most important thing will be this: these 90 minutes». Requirement of the game against Benfica «It will be a very important game. We want to be in that top 8. We need to get the three points against a great team. I have already warned players about the difficulty of the game against Benfica. We are here with tremendous humility, knowing that, if we want to win, we have to give our all, be very focused and play to the limit during the 90 minutes. I expect the same from Benfica, who also play in front of their fans, at their stadium. The difficulty of the game will be maximum.” Memories of the 2014 final «We cannot take away the importance of this victory in the 'Champions', which came after so long. It is clear that winning the 10th ['la décima'] consolidated the beginning of a new era. It was certainly one of the two most important seasons for Real Madrid. [...] It started here at this stadium, in 2014, and it brings us all good memories, so I hope that tomorrow we will win again.” The team's moment: «The players are the soul» «In these last 15 days I have seen a very committed group of players, willing to listen and work. We have room to improve. We have to be a team. There are many things to do, which requires time, work and training».