Mourinho: Morata in Real Madrid team because of me

12 Nov 2012 11:05:00 AM

The Portuguese coach has underlined the fact that he was the one who let the young forward debut in the wake of recent criticism that he does not give youth players a chance

Jose Mourinho has hit back at critics accusing him of ignoring youth players in the wake of Real Madrid's 2-1 La Liga win over Levante at the weekend.

Promising youngster Alvaro Morata netted the winner in Sunday's encounter, and Mourinho was quick to point out that he iss the one who gave the 20-year-old a chance to prove his worth.

"I was the one who brought him to the first team. I was the one who promoted him to the first team during three consecutive pre-seasons," Mourinho stated at a press conference. "I was the one who insisted on giving him a contract for the first team and prevented him from leaving.

"We have [Karim] Benzema and [Gonzalo] Higuain, and you would all call me crazy if I played Morata ahead of them. People talk a lot, but we are just doing our job here.

"I don't know whether it's opportunistic, but I'm the one who played Morata. It wasn't me who let go of [Juan] Mata and [Alvaro] Negredo. I let Pedro Leon leave, but that's it."

Morata has netted once in three La Liga appearances this season.