The crushing defeat against Arsenal has set off all the alarm bells at the Santiago Bernabéu. Carlo Ancelotti‘s future is more in doubt than ever, and although all the reports point to Xabi Alonso as a possible replacement for the Italian coach, the option of bringing back José Mourinho is becoming a real option given the demands on this squad.
Real Madrid are thinking about bringing back Mourinho
Jose Mourinho left an indelible mark on the history of Real Madrid, with some very good things but also some things to be forgotten. The Portuguese coach arrived at the club in the summer of 2010, at one of the most difficult moments in recent history, facing the best Barcelona team of all time led by Messi and a crop of youth players who are already part of Spanish football history.
The coach managed to turn around an almost impossible situation and stood up to a Barcelona side that seemed invincible, managing to snatch a title and battling with 100-point leagues, something unthinkable today. If the coach achieved anything, it was to create a winning block, where for a long time, the team was rowing in a single direction.
But his temperament and his way of understanding football ended up fracturing the Whites’ own dressing room, where two camps were created, one led by Arbeloa and the other by Iker Casillas, two homegrown players who had different perceptions of the direction the team was taking.
After three seasons at the club, with one league title, one Super Cup and one Copa del Rey (against the best Barcelona side ever), Mourinho left Real Madrid, just short of winning the long-awaited Champions League. He didn’t achieve it, but he laid the foundations, or more than that, for Real Madrid to become the most dominant team of the last decade, and perhaps in the history of football.
Mourinho’s thorn in the side
Florentino Pérez and Mourinho have always had a great relationship. Not long ago the Portuguese coach acknowledged that he could have stayed on at the club for another season, but the atmosphere had soured and he decided to step aside. He acknowledges that Florentino asked him to stay, that he had already achieved the most difficult thing (catching up with Barcelona), but he refused. Today, “I regret having said no to Florentino”.
A radical change with the current squad
The more than possible elimination of Real Madrid against Arsenal has shown something that has been seen all season, and that is that Ancelotti is not able to make the squad listen to him. A team that is comfortable and does not work hard enough and that needs a firmer hand to face new challenges. With such a young squad, but one that has won everything, it needs the motivation of a demanding coach who will get the most out of his players, and the board of directors believe that the current coach of Fenerbahçe is perfectly placed to put a team lacking in authority in its place.
Many Real Madrid directors believe that a second stint by Mourinho with the team would mean a step up in quality, especially for a team lacking in tactical discipline and work ethic, two aspects that Mourinho works on to perfection. It remains to be seen how the season ends for Real Madrid, anything is possible in the white house and a comeback (now unthinkable) in the Champions League could turn everything around, but the current situation of a team that has won everything and is lacking in ambition and collective work could provoke a radical change for the future bench.
Mourinho would be delighted to return to Real Madrid, to be able to coach the team again and to get over the thorn, not only of coaching the team again, but also of being able to win the Champions League with Real Madrid.