Back when Real Madrid first announced the arrival of Jose Mourinho to replace the outgoing Alvaro Arbeloa, the onus was always on whether this would be the Mourinho of old who could finally get this group of players to become mentality monsters.
There have been so many different managers who have tried and failed to do so. From Carlo Ancelotti in 2024-25, who people are now realising they were too harsh on, to seeing Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa try to do the same the season after, Mourinho is now the fourth coach who is tasked with such a pressure.
Real Madrid need it, too. They need Mourinho to get them back to where they used to be, and if it does not work with him, the chances are that it won't work with anyone else, either - not unless the club and the players finally learn to change their ways and modernise the way the rest of Europe has.
However, the Mourinho fans thoguht they were getting is not the Mourinho that has turned up in the first few matches of the season. There have been some iconic lines at press conferences, some rants in front of the media, and some shouts at players, but generally speaking, whenever Mourinho talks about his players, it has come with a sense of love and pride.
Jose Mourinho can't keep playing the good guy anymore
He is playing the good guy who can man-manage the group if he gives them enough confidence. The same tactic that Ancelotti and Arbeloa tried and failed. Xabi Alonso was the only one who tried to take the control away from players, but was quickly removed from his position when the club decided to side with the spoiled players in question.
Mourinho, in his prime, was the biggest ego in the dressing room. He was a bigger ego than most of the players at Real Madrid. He used to be able to get a certain group to understand that everything works the way he wants it to work.
Right now, we have not seen that version from Mourinho. We have seen something that everyone knows is bound to fail. Playing players to help them regain confidence. Not being too harsh on them in front of the media - everything under this umbrella has been tried and tested by managers who came before him.
Maybe Mourinho was just testing the waters to see what kind of group he is working with. Maybe it was all for show, and the real Mourinho is stern and slowly working in the shadows. However, for Real Madrid to return to form, this team needs the absolute pinnacle of Mourinho's personality. They need to understand how important it is to be a team and follow instructions, and until that happens, nothing will change.
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