Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho: Does it make sense?

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With Madrid about to finish a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy and experiencing a hugely turbulent week off the pitch — which included Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde being fined for fighting at the training ground — Mourinho will have his work cut out. So does the move make sense? Dermot Corrigan and Guillermo Rai analyse the possible impact of an unlikely return. Madrid president Florentino Perez has a history of returning to managers who know the special nature of the club. Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane were also re-appointed to the position over the past decade, and their insider knowledge and experience helped make a success of one of the most difficult managerial jobs in world sport. They are turning to Mourinho amid a huge sense of crisis at the Bernabeu, on and off the pitch. Recent examples of unrest and indiscipline among the squad feed an idea that a strong leader is required to impose order amid chaos. The club hierarchy also sense they are under attack from all sides, so they need someone who will defend their idea of ‘Madridismo’ with tooth and claw. Mourinho’s previous three seasons in the job from 2010-2013 were incredibly turbulent, with the Portuguese aggressively looking for conflict with his own players, other senior figures at the Bernabeu, referees, rival coaches and especially the local media. Some at Madrid believe all that tension and strife actually benefited them in the long run — setting them on the path to future Champions League wins under Ancelotti and Zidane. Over the past two years, none of Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso or Alvaro Arbeloa have been able to impose order on a dressing room full of big egos, although that job has been made more difficult by the club hierarchy appearing to side with galactico players, as happened when Vinicius Junior rebelled against Alonso. This Madrid are about to end the season without a major trophy for the second campaign in a row. The last time that happened, at the end of 2009-10, Mourinho was brought in. During his first spell at the club, one of the key reasons Madrid turned to Mourinho was to restore authority to the role of head coach, something that had gradually eroded inside the dressing room in the preceding years. Perez also afforded the Portuguese more power than is typically given to a Madrid manager, granting him significant influence over squad planning and broader sporting decisions. Few other managers — if any — have been treated by Perez in such a way. During all the tension and conflict of his first spell in charge, Mourinho retained the support of a hardcore of Madrid supporters. Even when he poked then-Barca assistant manager Tito Vilanova in the eye during a touchline melee as Madrid lost a Camp Nou Clasico in August 2011, a banner reading ‘‘Mou — your finger points us the way” was displayed in the Bernabeu stands for months afterwards. A good chunk of Madrid fans eventually grew fed up with Mourinho’s behaviour, which old-school figures such as former player and manager Jorge Valdano believed did not fit with the club’s traditional values. There is a lot of frustration among fans at the moment, with blame for the team’s poor recent record aimed more towards players than the club hierarchy. Influential local pundits have also fed the idea among supporters that a lack of commitment from the top players, such as Kylian Mbappe, is the biggest problem that needs fixing. Deterioration in results and the atmosphere around the squad has reached the point where even some of Mourinho’s traditional critics are no longer dismissing him as a viable option. Historically, the coaches who have succeeded at Madrid have tended to be more diplomatic and consensus-building figures, such as Vicente del Bosque, Ancelotti and Zidane. But with Zidane widely seen to be waiting for the France job after the World Cup, and with few available candidates offering a similarly balanced profile, the club’s search inevitably narrows. As a consequence, some of the resistance to the idea of Mourinho returning has also softened. Madrid played Benfica three times in the Champions League earlier this season. In the first leg of their knockout phase play-off in Lisbon on February 17, Vinicius Jr alleged that 20-year-old Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni racially abused him. Prestianni denied the allegation. He was eventually given a six-match ban for homophobic abuse following a UEFA investigation. After that game, Mourinho said: “There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. Every stadium where Vinicius Jr plays, something happens. Always.” The manager’s comments brought widespread condemnation — but the reaction from Madrid’s hierarchy was reserved, even as several of Vinicius Jr’s team-mates, including Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni, spoke out to support him. Vinicius Jr has not spoken publicly about Mourinho’s words or UEFA’s decision. However, in messages with The Athletic in recent weeks, sources close to the player said they did not see a problem with the Portuguese being appointed. Meanwhile, negotiations over extending the forward’s contract, which now has just 13 months left to run, are deadlocked. Some players are already aware that Mourinho is emerging as a serious option and, within parts of the squad, the idea is being viewed favourably. A section of the dressing room would welcome change, with Arbeloa expected to leave at the end of the season. In that context, any managerial shift is being regarded with some optimism. One specific case is Dean Huijsen, whom Mourinho brought to Roma on loan from Juventus in January 2024. Huijsen made three appearances before Mourinho was sacked later that month, but the pair have spoken highly of each other. It is difficult to predict how Mourinho’s appointment would go down in the Madrid dressing room as a whole. Apart from Huijsen, experience of his methods is minimal. Captain Dani Carvajal, whose future is uncertain with his contract due to expire, came through the youth ranks during his previous spell but was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 without having featured for the first team. “We learned very quickly who Mou was during pre-season,” Madrid coach Arbeloa said of Mourinho’s debut 2009-10 campaign with Madrid, in a 2014 interview with Spanish magazine Jot Down. “He roared at everyone, even Cristiano (Ronaldo)! He said: ‘You don’t want to run? No problem for me — the bench’. It could be a world champion, or Kaka, or a youth teamer. We remembered that talk a lot.” Madrid’s hierarchy and supporters might like the idea of Mourinho repeating that approach. The reaction of star players like Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, who have both been jeered by home fans this term, would be fascinating to see. Mbappe was a Madrid fan with posters of Ronaldo on his bedroom wall during Mourinho’s first term in charge. The 27-year-old liked a social media post about the Portuguese’s potential return last month. Over his 26-year managerial career, Mourinho has often scorned those who believe themselves to be tactical sophisticates. He wants teams to be well organised in defence and direct in attack. There is no big focus on possession stats or complicated gameplans. Most of Madrid’s success over recent seasons, especially under Ancelotti in the Champions League, came with a relatively simple style that involved defending deep and counter-attacking. Arbeloa’s best moments also came when the team were motivated to work extra hard for each other, as in the Champions League last-16 victory over Manchester City earlier this season, when Mbappe and Bellingham were not at full fitness. A back-to-basics approach may be welcomed by some of the current squad, especially those who disliked Alonso’s attempts to micro-manage their on-pitch movements and decisions. However, a big question is whether Mourinho’s methods can really work at the top level of today’s game, given that his most recent league title is the 2015-16 Premier League with Chelsea, and that he last won a Champions League knockout match in April 2014, again with Chelsea. Additional reporting: Mario Cortegana Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms