In the coming weeks, Jose Mourinho will take charge of his first pre-season since returning as Real Madrid head coach. The Portuguese made his triumphant return to the Bernabeu 13 years after his first spell in charge came to an end, and he hopes to be the one that turns things around after a dismal couple of years.

The last major trophy won by Real Madrid was the 2023-24 Champions League over two years ago. Since then, they have been comfortably second-best to Barcelona in La Liga, while they were bested by Arsenal and Bayern Munich in Europe, both times at the quarter-final stage. They cannot afford to go another season without success, which is why Florentino Perez has turned to Mourinho.

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Many current Real Madrid players have welcomed Mourinho’s return, and now former star Joselu Mato has had his say on Iker Casillas’ Bajo los palos podcast. As per MD, the veteran striker also believes the Portuguese can be the right man at the right time, given that he will command a lot of authority in the dressing room.

“Mourinho is a coach with a lot of character, with ideas that Madrid need because they need a change and he is a coach who has what it takes to put people in their place. Can he be the best option? We won’t know that until the months go by. But Real Madrid need discipline, especially within the dressing room. A club like Real Madrid cannot afford to go two years without winning any title.”

Pressure is on Mourinho to deliver for Real Madrid

The last 12 months under Xabi Alonso and the Alvaro Arbeloa showed that Real Madrid need a manager that can manage a dressing room – especially one with big egos. Mourinho is very capable of this, but it remains to be seen whether that is enough to get things back on track at the Bernabeu.