Jose Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid means more than a change of personality. It signals a radical tactical transformation, and its features have already begun to emerge before the new season officially kicks off.
With the team counting down to its first La Liga matches, the pre-season and its many experiments have revealed a completely different approach from the Portuguese coach. Analyst Aritz Gabilondo described it on the programme “El Larguero” on Cadena SER radio as Mourinho’s “real footballing change”.
Speaking on the programme “Sanedrin” with Alvaro Benito, Gabilondo explained that the new Mourinho has ditched his old ideas, once built around a rigid, physically imposing double pivot. “In the previous era, it would have been impossible for us to see Bernardo Silva playing as a second holding midfielder alongside Tchouameni,” he said. “He is a player under 1.70 metres tall and physically light, this would have been impossible in Mourinho’s tough era.”
This transformation is no isolated case. It reflects a complete philosophy the coach has applied since his final years at Benfica, where he leaned on a playmaker close to the defensive holding midfielder.
Turkey’s Arda Guler tells the same story. He now plays in a slightly deeper position behind Jude Bellingham to support the central midfielder, a role the old Mourinho would have branded an incalculable risk.
For Gabilondo, Bernardo Silva starting Real’s opener against Espanyol next Saturday is a foregone conclusion, making it the first official test of this new model.
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Real Madrid enter the season a match behind after the postponement of their first-round fixture. They begin from the second round three points adrift of their rivals, a fresh challenge for Mourinho, who wants to prove his change runs deeper than personality and reaches into the football itself.