Jose Mourinho has agreed a three-year contract to return as head coach of Real Madrid, with the club confirming his reappointment on Thursday. The move sees Mourinho return to the Santiago Bernabéu 13 years after his initial, often turbulent, tenure concluded.
Mourinho was reportedly at the top of Florentino Perez’s wishlist to replace Alvaro Arbeloa, who had only taken over from Xabi Alonso in January. Perez’s decision to abandon the Alonso project after just six months comes despite an encouraging start to the season, which included a 2-1 victory in the first Clasico, giving Los Blancos a five-point lead over Barcelona.
A turbulent legacy revisited
Mourinho first arrived in Madrid in 2010, tasked with breaking Barcelona’s dominance. He succeeded in winning a Liga title and a Copa del Rey during his previous reign, but his time was also marked by intense rivalry and controversy. The relationship between Real Madrid and Barcelona became notoriously acrimonious, with Barcelona players openly criticizing Mourinho’s impact.
In August 2011, after a Supercopa clash where Real Madrid had four men sent off in five games against Barcelona, Gerard Pique accused the then-Madrid coach of “destroying Spanish football,” according to Goal.com. The animosity culminated in Mourinho eye-gouging Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova during the same Supercopa final, an incident that underscored the heated atmosphere he cultivated. Former Madrid captain Iker Casillas later revealed his attempts to “smooth things over” between the rival clubs, a stance that reportedly did not sit well with Mourinho, contributing to his loss of support from key dressing room members like Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
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Recent struggles and fresh controversy
Since leaving Real Madrid, Mourinho has managed Fenerbahce, Roma, Tottenham, and Manchester United, before being re-hired by Benfica last September. However, his recent track record has been less stellar; he has not won a league title since 2015, with the Conference League being his only cup triumph in the past nine years.
His return to the spotlight also follows a recent controversy involving Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. While coaching Benfica, Mourinho commented on an incident in February where Vinicius Jr. was verbally abused by home fans and Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni at Estadio da Luz. The incident occurred after Vinicius Jr. opened the scoring in a Champions League play-off. Prestianni was subsequently banned for six European matches for ‘homophobic conduct’ towards Vinicius, as reported by Goal.com, though he was not punished for alleged racial abuse, which he denies.
Speaking to Amazon Prime, Mourinho offered a contentious take on the events: “I told [Vinicius], when you score a goal like that you just celebrate and walk back… There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium. A stadium where Vinicius plays something happens, always.”
This second spell for Mourinho marks a significant gamble for Florentino Perez, who has effectively staked his presidency on the controversial coach’s return. With Barcelona currently led by Hansi Flick, who has won back-to-back championships with a united young squad, Mourinho faces the immediate challenge of proving he can still deliver major silverware without the accompanying drama that defined his first tenure.
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