Madness or genius: is this superclub now going all in?

Madness or genius: is this superclub now going all in?

The current situation feels strangely familiar for Real Madrid. Barça are dominating the league, while Los Blancos themselves have gone two years without winning a title. For Real, a catastrophe! Just like in 2010, José Mourinho is now supposedly meant to provide the answer to the problems. Is it madness, or actually a masterstroke?

What is beyond dispute is that the former superstar among coaches is long past his best. These days, he makes headlines less through sporting success and more through his press conferences, interviews, and behavior off the pitch. While the latter was also true in the past, it no longer seems like a formula for success, but rather a desperate attempt to distance himself from his teams’ failures.

Most recently, he could not even land jobs in Europe’s top five leagues anymore. And why would he? Over the past ten years, the now 63-year-old has won only four trophies: a League Cup and an English Super Cup with Manchester United, plus the Europa League with the Red Devils and the Conference League with AS Roma. Not exactly the kind of silverware people dream of at Real.

Whereas Mourinho averaged well over two points per game during his prime, he has only managed that since leaving Madrid in 2013 with Fenerbahçe and his current club Benfica. Both clubs play in leagues that are not at the very highest level. His bus-parking style now feels outdated, especially when you look at matchups like the Champions League semi-final between PSG and Bayern.

And yet, 'The Athletic' recently reported that Real president Florentino Pérez favors bringing him back. Fabrizio Romano also said that Mourinho could well imagine a comeback. The English news outlet further reported that the relationship between Pérez and Mourinho remains good.

But why does the club boss think that of all people, the struggling Mourinho could get Real back on track? After all, even his own three-year spell in Madrid was marked by surprisingly few trophies. Against Pep Guardiola’s super-Barça side, The Special One won just one league title (2012), one Copa del Rey (2011), and one Spanish Super Cup (2012).

According to 'The Athletic', what Pérez remembers above all is Mourinho’s second season, when he won the league with 100 points and 121 goals, thereby breaking Barça’s dominance. He also won 71.91 percent of his matches, a record for Real coaches.

The Portuguese is credited with making Los Blancos capable of winning titles again. After his departure, Real won the Champions League six times between 2014 and 2024. Among Real fans, the argument now is that Mourinho laid the foundation for those successes by bringing a winning mentality back to the club.

If he managed to do that again, it would of course be a masterstroke by Pérez, who has successfully brought coaches back before. Carlo Ancelotti and Zinédine Zidane, for example. Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa are also said to have recently failed because of the difficult characters within the squad.

Following that line of thought, Mourinho would once again be the one to unite the top stars behind him and turn them into a team capable of challenging for the Champions League again. After all, between 2010 and 2013 he also reached the semi-finals of Europe’s top competition three times.

But is the Mourinho of 2026 really still capable of the same feats as the Mourinho of 2010? And we should not forget the circumstances under which he left Real back then. According to 'Sports Illustrated', he left behind a "disaster" in the dressing room, while 'The Independent' described his relationship with the players as "toxic".

'Marca' reported in January 2013 that Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos had gone to Pérez and demanded the coach’s dismissal at the end of the season. Basically: either us or him. Something the club vehemently denied. Mourinho was gone the following summer anyway.

He had pushed club icon Casillas aside as goalkeeper and had a very public falling-out with him. The keeper repeatedly confirmed in public that Mourinho had accused him of being a mole for the press. The 'BBC' named Ramos and Pepe as other players who had problems with the coach, while 'Sports Illustrated' added Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Is it really likely that someone like that would now calm any potential conflicts with Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, or Jude Bellingham? Especially after he accused Vini Jr., following the racism scandal involving Gianluca Prestianni, of having provoked the abuse himself through his provocative celebration?

And how solid is the theory really that Mourinho laid the groundwork for Real’s later success? Were those not much more the achievements of Ancelotti and Zidane? By appointing Mourinho, Pérez would therefore be taking a major risk. But decisions that hover between genius and madness are, by their very nature, always risky.

What is more: a return of the extroverted coach is by no means a done deal yet. As recently as Friday, he said at a Benfica press conference: "No, no one from Real Madrid has spoken to me, I can guarantee that. I’ve been in football for many years and I’m already used to these things."

He "can’t say more," Mourinho added. "As far as Real Madrid is concerned, there is nothing. And as for Benfica, you already know the situation. I still have one more year on my contract at Benfica, that’s all." That does not sound like a passionate application for a Real job. But it does not sound like a clear denial either...

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.