Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho insists that Frenchman Karim Benzema is a better striker than this time a year ago.
The former
Lyonhttp://static.lingospot.com/spot/image/spacer.gif man scored his second and third goals of Real's pre-season campaign as they beat
Hertha Berlinhttp://static.lingospot.com/spot/image/spacer.gif 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Benzema says he has worked hard over the summer on his game and
Mourinhohttp://static.lingospot.com/spot/image/spacer.gif believes he deserves some of the credit for the 23-year-old's improvement.
"Today, Karim thinks about football the way I do," the Portuguese tactician told
Marca. "He has what it takes to produce a good season.
"He is much better than this time last year. I have succeeded in converting him."
TeamAnd Mourinho is also confident of improvement from the team as a whole, pointing to his past record as an indicator of what lies ahead.
Having taken over Porto midway through the 2001-02 season, he won the league the next year and added a further domestic title and the
UEFA Champions Leaguehttp://static.lingospot.com/spot/image/spacer.gif in 2003-04.
He then left for
Chelseahttp://static.lingospot.com/spot/image/spacer.gif and added back-to-back Premier League titles during his successful spell at Stamford Bridge.
"Football is not mathematics and nobody can guarantee this will happen this season, but my second seasons are always better," he continued.
"The results of pre-season are not the most important thing. The good thing is taking shape. Winning is nice because you travel happier.
"It was good training for us because the league starts soon and we are gathering pace and intensity. After playing against American and Mexican teams, it has been good to come and play in Germany