Mourinho’s Real Madrid hire is a huge gamble on the power of personality

Florentino Perez’s shortlist when it comes time to hire a new Real Madrid manager is never a long one. It usually features Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, both of whom returned to the Santiago Bernabeu for a second time. Jose Mourinho has now followed their lead by taking over the Spanish giants this summer.

Whether or not Mourinho was successful in his first stint as Real Madrid boss depends on who you ask. It’s certainly true that the Portuguese won the Spanish title, setting a new La Liga points record in the process. It could be argued that Mourinho’s 2011/12 Real Madrid team was the strongest he has ever coached.

And yet despite this, Barcelona usually got the better of Mourinho’s Real Madrid. During his first stint at the Santiago Bernabeu, the trademark mischief drained out of Mourinho and was replaced by paranoia and abrasiveness. The twinkle disappeared from his eye and it never truly returned. Real Madrid was a turning point in Mourinho’s career.

That Real Madrid have re-hired the 63-year-old is testament to the esteem he was held in for such a long time, but no other elite-level club would have gone near Mourinho. He has been left behind by the modern game and hasn’t won a league title since 2015. In the eyes of many, Mourinho is yesterday’s man.

This is what makes Real Madrid’s decision to re-appoint him so surprising. It was only 12 months ago that Xabi Alonso arrived in a move that was meant to herald the start of a new era for Los Blancos. The Bundesliga winner was given the license to remould Real Madrid in his own image. Alonso was there to win, but also to modernise a club in desperate need of fresh ideas.

Of course, Alonso’s revolution didn’t last long. He was chewed up and spat out after only seven months following a series of clashes with his own players. One clash in particular played out in the public eye when Vinicius Junior reacted badly to being substituted by Alonso during El Clasico. 

The situation didn’t improve much under Alvaro Arbeloa. If anything, the dressing room environment grew even more toxic, as demonstrated by the number of training ground bust-ups that took place. Fede Valverde was hospitalised following an altercation with Aurelien Tchouameni while Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras also clashed.

To many, Mourinho is precisely the sort of personality who will only inflame the situation further, but Real Madrid are counting on him having the authority to command respect from the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius, Jude Bellingham and co. They have hired him for his personality rather than his recent coaching record.

There might be some logic behind this decision, but Real Madrid also need a new tactical identity. They are well behind the curve at the elite level of European soccer, yet have a group of attackers who are unwilling to press from the front and do the things that so many of their rivals do. This was the issue Alonso ran into as Los Blancos boss.

Mourinho will favour a counter-attacking style that could help to get the best out of speedy attackers such as Mbappe and Vinicius, but will this give Real Madrid the control required to compete for the biggest prizes? How will this approach work against a Barcelona side that only appears to be getting stronger with every season?

Not many expected Mourinho to be given another opportunity at one of Europe’s biggest and most successful clubs, but Real Madrid still saw something in the 63-year-old that could help them move forward. The Special One might not have the magic he did a decade-and-a-half ago, and it remains to be seen if he is still special enough to succeed in the Spanish capital again.