Toril shrugs off Mourinho criticism

Alberto Toril has responded to criticisms from Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, insisting he does not choose to field an old team.

Mourinho recently accused Real Madrid B coach Toril of overlooking the likes of 17-year-old Jose Rodriguez, who scored for the senior side in the Copa del Rey win over Alcoyano, for the sake of fielding an older group of players.

Though he expressed his respect for the Portuguese coach’s opinion, Toril has moved to dispel the idea that his current Castilla set-up does not include enough young players.

Speaking after his side’s 2-2 draw with Huesca, the 39-year-old told reporters: “What Mou says is respectable, I have nothing to say. We do not have a very old team.”

The notion of youth players at the Liga champions has become a talking point of late, with former Blancos coach Bernd Schuster accusing Mourinho of being uninterested in developing youth players at the club.

Rumours of a rift between Mourinho and Toril also emerged in the aftermath of the recent international break, with the former Chelsea boss opting to play Michael Essien at left-back rather than calling on academy graduate Nacho as a replacement for injured duo Fabio Coentrao and Marcelo.

Mourinho himself has insisted that tactical differences between the Cantera and senior set-ups are the main factors behind his decision to overlook certain players, although he did include Alex and Ruben Yanez as well as Rodriguez in his squad for the clash with Alcoyano.