Mourinho Returns to Bernabéu: Starting Fresh with Real Madrid

Real Madrid have barely caught their breath from the opening scare against Espanyol and they are already staring at a different kind of occasion: first home game of the season, first night back at the Santiago Bernabéu, and the first time the stadium will see Jose Mourinho in charge again.

A lot has changed since Madrid last played here. New man on the bench. New voices in the dressing room. A squad reshaped around some of the game’s biggest stars. The stadium is the same. The pressure is the same. Almost everything else is different.

The visit of Real Sociedad is technically Matchday 1, a fixture pushed back because so many of Madrid’s players returned late from international duty and the World Cup. Now it arrives with the team already jolted by Espanyol and Mourinho trying to stamp his ideas on a group that has known other methods, other managers, other eras.

“We start from scratch, although it is not from scratch, people already have feelings,” Mourinho said in his pre-match press conference. “There is a willingness to do things right and to support the team.”

Balancing stars, minutes and data

The questions came quickly. Style. Rotations. Workload. How do you manage a squad packed with players who went deep into the World Cup?

“You have to do this management well between playing nothing and playing a lot, for example Cucurella. I gave him 30 minutes,” he explained. His decisions, he insisted, are a blend of numbers and human reading. “My vision is mixed with data and with what the players tell me, the knowledge that each one has of himself.”

This is not the Mourinho of touchline explosions and constant confrontation. At least, not yet.

“I have been feeling calmer for years, with more control of my emotions. But it's not something new,” he said. “Now I face difficult situations or frustrations, because we have not yet lost.”

Then came a line that will please the board as much as the fans: “I don't like laziness, I like people who work for Real Madrid. So far I haven't seen laziness, everyone gives everything. And everyone protects me from my dark side. I feel good like this.”

Vinicius at the centre of the storm

The conversation inevitably turned to Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian remains one of the most decisive players in Europe and, at the same time, one of the most targeted – by opposing defenders, by hostile crowds, and, in Mourinho’s view, by inconsistent officiating.

“The reaction of the normal public can be controlled. Vinicius' relationship with the rival stand can improve,” he admitted. “But the kicks, insults, and aggressions are due to the referee.”

For Mourinho, the responsibility is clear.

“Justice must be given. It is the referee who has to protect the players and the game. You can work on your relationship with your adversaries.”

He praised Vinicius’ ability to rise in big moments, but he did not hide his anger at what he sees on the pitch.

“Last season I saw every match of Madrid and Barcelona. But what I have seen now, in preseason, it is obvious that there is a difference between Vinicius and other players,” he said. “A dynamic has been entered, the opponents know they can. If they foul Vini, the yellow card arrives after making 10 fouls. It's a treatment I don't like.”

From the outside looking in, when he was at Benfica, he admits he only cared about Benfica. Now, from the inside, the picture has changed.

“When I was Benfica coach, I was only interested in Benfica. Vini may have more control, but if it's a kick and aggression, it's expulsion.”

Even so, he made a point of backing the Spanish officials as a whole.

“After seeing the last game, I really liked the refereeing. I trust the Spanish refereeing. I always trust the referee. After the game sometimes there are things I don't like.”

Then came the sting, delivered with that familiar edge: “Yes Negreira, yes friends, I'm not there. I'm totally with the referees.”

Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinicius: a luxury problem

If there is one “problem” Mourinho will not complain about, it is the one in attack.

“The most complicated thing is when you don't have top-level players. That has happened to me in other teams. Not here,” he said. “I want all three of them (Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinicius) and I am here to make decisions.”

Decisions about roles, positions, minutes, egos. The kind of issues every elite coach secretly wants.

On his own return to the Bernabéu, he played it down, at least in public.

“I don't want the Bernabeu to receive me in a particular way, I want it to receive the team as its team, with its passion.”

The transfer market? Officially closed in his head. Realistically, never completely shut.

“It's still open, you never know what you can go through,” he admitted. “At the moment everything is closed, but the president or José Ángel can call me to tell me that there is an offer for one. For me, the market is closed. I would like to stay with this squad this season.”

Valverde, Tchouameni and the moving pieces

The second half of the press conference drilled down into names. Roles. Specifics.

Federico Valverde came first. Mourinho was blunt about where he sees him.

“I don't like it when they make him play on the right back. It has happened to him in the past. For me, he is a midfield player. He can be more positional, or more mobile.”

Modern football, he reminded, demands flexibility, but not permanent improvisation.

“Teams must have solutions. A full-back is a full-back, but today he can be a winger. Or like Trent, who can play inside,” he said, stressing that emergency fixes should not become habits.

On Carlos Espi and Kylian Mbappé, Mourinho opened the door to partnerships.

“We can see them together, or with Endrick. Carlos has a different profile, it was perfect for how the game against Espanyol was. I thought Carlos could be important at that time to suffocate the rival.”

Aurelien Tchouameni is another key piece, but one that comes with a medical asterisk after the World Cup.

“He has suffered a lot in the World Cup. He risked everything. He played in the semifinals with everything,” Mourinho revealed.

Now, caution wins.

“He has a setback, the player is ready to play and could have continued, but we believe he should start the season at 100%. We have decided with him and the staff to wait, so that he returns a week or two later, but 100%.”

Endrick, the long view

Endrick’s name surfaced late in the press conference, but the tone sharpened again. Mourinho likes what he sees, even if the youngster is currently dealing with an injury.

“There is a specific problem next to the tendon, but it is more of a precaution. He's a player I like so much.”

The Brazilian forward has been chased by half of Europe. Mourinho did not hide that.

“He has had so many, so many offers from clubs. I didn't want to give in. I'm sure he's going to get to Carlo Ancelotti's first call. He will call me directly.”

Now the Bernabéu waits. For Mourinho’s second debut at home. For Vinicius’ response to the treatment he receives. For Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinicius to share the same stage under the same lights.

The season is only just beginning, but the questions are already huge. How long will this calm, controlled Mourinho last once the real storms arrive?