Jose Mourinho has an interesting legacy at Real Madrid. On one hand, nobody can deny what he achieved during his time at Santiago Bernabeu. Whether it be the record-breaking La Liga-winning campaign. Or the fact that he prevented Barcelona from completely dominating Spanish football during that period of time. El Clasicos back then were absolute box-office and the Portuguese manager certainly played his part in that.
For all of that though, Mourinho certainly had his shortcomings at Real Madrid. Mourinho’s third, last, season at the club was a bit of a disaster to say the least. But then, that is how things often end when The Special One is involved.
Mourinho did lay the foundations of what would go on to be one of the best Real Madrid teams ever. It was during his time at the club that they finally crossed the last 16 hurdle in the Champions League, one that they had been stuck on for several years.
In a recent interview with ESPN, and as reported by Tribuna, Marcelo said about Mourinho:
"“The best in terms of his talks, was Jose [Mourinho] — a coach who specializes in getting into your head. It changed me into being aggressive.”"
Real Madrid legend Marcelo makes Mourinho admission
The Real Madrid team certainly became more aggressive during the time of Mourinho as their manager. And that is perhaps what they needed as well, to get the better of a Barcelona team managed by Pep Guardiola, which was legendary for their ability on the ball.
Ultimately, Mourinho’s Real Madrid did get the better of Guardiola’s Barcelona. And in many ways, it also led to the Spaniard’s departure from Camp Nou.
Since then, he has continued to achieve success, at clubs like Bayern Munich and Manchester City. But neither Guardiola nor Barcelona, have ever really reached those heights ever again.
On the other hand, Mourinho’s career has been on a bit of a downward spiral in recent years. He currently finds himself as the manager of AS Roma.