The Special One
It was finally announced officially today that Jose Mourinho will be the new Real Madrid boss, in one of the worst kept secrets in modern football. Of course, the question on a lot of people’s lips is can a man who is renowned for methodical, tactical and sometimes unattractive football last the course at a club renowned for demanding attractive, open football as well as delivering success?
A quick look back at Mourinho’s CVshows you that if you want a man to take you to the top, then he is clearly more than capable. Furthermore, who could be more perfect for a team with bottomless pockets than the man who has shown time and again his mastery in the transfer market, whether in the guise of the billionaire backed Chelsea or the slightly more budget conscious Porto.
In his bid to become the only manager to have won the Champions League with three different clubs in three different nations, you can hardly blame Mourinho for wanting the Real Madrid job. Whilst Internazionale fans will tell you that their club is a member of the elite backed up of course by their recent Champions League win, there really are not many clubs in the world that are on the same level as Real Madrid.
The pressure of managing such a huge club is proportionate to its size. Mourinho has shown in the past that he can deal with this pressure, although similar treatment from the media in Spain as he got from the media in Italy may sour his demeanour. The press in Italy are famed for their ruthlessness and the experiences that Mourinho had whilst in Milan will surely stand him in good stead in Spain. Reporters in Spain, although not the easiest to deal with, may seem like child’s play in comparison.
A lot has been made about how Mourinho will deal with the pressure from the fans and board alike to deliver success whilst not compromising attractive football. It seems to be a generally held consensus that Mourinho likes to set his teams up from the back, stifling the life out of the opposition and grinding them down until he gets success. However, this is not entirely true.
Since his Chelsea days he has favoured a one man up top approach. If you think back to his first couple of seasons in charge at Stamford Bridge you will remember the attacking wing play on display. With the added demand for league titles and the nature of the Premier League, he was forced to adopt his approach accordingly. Similarly, Italy is famed for being a nation focused on tactical, defensive football. An all out attack approach would simply not have worked in Serie A.
Mourinho’s tactics will not be a problem for the Real Madrid faithful. When you have the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Gonzalo Higuain at your disposal, with the likes of Rafael van der Vaart, Esteban Granero, Raul and Karim Benzema backing them up, it is quite clear to see that Mourinho’s tactics, although built around a solid base, will allow some quite wonderful football to flourish.
It remains to be seen how Mourinho will set up Los Blancos, once he gets the chance to play a few matches. Although he has favoured a 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 approach in recent times it would appear that he will have the opportunity to adopt a 4-2-3-1 approach if he so desires. With players like Fernando Gago, Lassana Diarra, Mahamadou Diarra and Xabi Alonso available to play in the central midfield, he certainly has a base for this. He could easily set up in a very aggressive fashion, incorporating all of his Galacticos into this system.
There has been a lot of noise in the press that he is in hot pursuit of Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard. I think it is unlikely that he will get all three of them, if he gets any at all. There have also been strong rumours that he will be bringing Maicon along with him from the Nerazzurri. If Maicon and Cole were brought in, he would have the solid base he so craves whilst also ensuring that players such as Ronaldo and Kaka could roam freely, knowing that their new team mates love to overlap and join in the attack.
Whoever Mourinho decides he needs to do the job, he will surely have one hell of a talented line up at the beginning of the new La Liga season. If Real are to end Barcelona’s domination, then you feel this may well be the time for it to happen. Mourinho has a proven track record of delivering immediate success and, with the setup that already exists at the Bernabeu added to his tactical genius and excellent skills in the transfer market, it is difficult to see him failing.
Of course, having a President like Florentino Perez, there exists a Punch and Judy style pantomime. It takes a very strong character to survive at the Bernabeu, just ask Fabio Capello who was unceremoniously shown the door after delivering the title. However, if anybody on this planet was built to deal with the kinds of external pressures and mind games that come with the world’s most coveted job, then surely it is Jose Mourinho.
In recent times, Madrid have been victims of the curse of the Galacticos. This time round though, the manager is the Galactico. He will not pander to any member of his squad and he has the strength of character to make unpopular decisions. Also, he has also shown over the years, that he has the ability to get more out of his players, season after season. The careers of players like John Terry and Frank Lampard were taken to a whole new level under Mourinho and they make no secret of their unyielding respect for the man.
Whatever happens at the Bernabeu this season, it is sure to be exciting. It remains to be seen whether the excitement will come from the football pitch, the media circus or the off field politics. I suspect it may be all three.
Matt Dalton
Matt lives for football and has done from a very young age. Influenced by his older brother, he is a lifelong Liverpool fan, yearning for the days of yesteryear. Currently living in Germany, he has plans to return to the UK in August. His footballing heroes are Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and, perhaps surprisingly, Roy Keane.
On Facebook, John Mclellan commented: Loads of rumours over the World Cup about acquisitions….can't believe they think this is out of order…what do you expect from a man who has developed so many careers over the past 10 years….I say good luck to the 'Special One'….he will certainly make me start to watch more of La Liga
Posted by mpalazzotto | 2 June, 2010, 01:11As for me, I agree with a lot of your points, though I think he might focus on some different personnel. Maicon, yes, possibly Lahm, Zanetti, maybe even Riise from Roma. Otherwise, with Diarra's illness, I think he might rate a physical holding midfielder high on his list of priorities..
Posted by mpalazzotto | 2 June, 2010, 01:16John, I reckon he is going to be a massive success there and all the talk about his "negative" tactics is just lazy journalism to me. When he has had the players to play attacking football, he has. Just because his Chelsea side didn't concede many didn't mean it was totally defensive!
Martin, I think you might be right with the central midfield general. With links to Gerrard and Lampard, Mourinho obviously sees this as one of the weaker areas of his team, along with the full back area. I think that the addition of Maicon, Cole and a midfield general (De Rossi would be pretty awesome) could take Madrid exactly where they want to be.
Posted by Matt Dalton | 2 June, 2010, 09:44His appointment at Real Madrid is perhaps the only thing that could make El Clasico even more exciting. I think the idea of toppling Barcelona was too much for him to resist.
Plenty of talk about who he's going to bring in, but I as interested to see who leaves. He might want to overhaul the squad and make it "his" team.
Posted by David Harrison | 2 June, 2010, 15:07A squad overhaul could, indeed, make things very interesting. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mahamadou Diarra, Fernando Gago, Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema leave to be honest and the players he has the potential to bring in with his reputation would, as you say, really spice up El Classico!
Posted by Matt Dalton | 2 June, 2010, 15:45He's a great track record hasn't he. Like you said he has played attacking football when it suited him, and he did bring in the likes of Quaresma and Mancini with the intent to play with width in Milan, but he does generally set his teams up to play well on the counter attack, that's why I always thought he would fit well at Man Utd as that is their historical approach too. At Real Madrid things will be different, they will dominate possession in virtually every game they play, like you both say the players at his disposal lean towards attractive football no matter what. Should be very interesting indeed, especially when you consider that Pellegrini had a very decent first season, finishing with a better record than a very strong Barcelona team (If you don't include the games against each other, Real won the league).
I would say they need to look at their defence again, a dominant centre-half to play alongside Albiol would make a huge difference. And also as you say to their midfield, a holding player is key, and often last season I thought they lacked width in the final third, especially wide right. Perhaps Canales can play there, but the balance looked wrong for me at times. Who would you sign if you were him and money and loyalty were no object? Essien? Joe Cole on a free? Navas?
Posted by Steve Atkinson | 2 June, 2010, 15:47Rumour has it Joe Cole is going to Arsenal btw, heard that on the radio this morning – wonder whether there's any truth to it. I think he'll be away from Chelsea though.
Posted by Steven Jones | 3 June, 2010, 12:38I read yesterday that Harry Redknapp said he would love to sign him but he got the impression from Cole that he had agreed to sign for somebody else.
Posted by Matt Dalton | 3 June, 2010, 14:18If I was in charge, Steve, I think I would probably look to get rid of the four mentioned above – M Diarra, Gago, Ramos and Benzema – and would be looking to replace them as well as adding another winger and a centre back.
In defence, I would look to replace Ramos with somebody like Maicon or at least somebody of that mould. If not Maicon, then Santon would be a possibility to add that attacking flair to add the variation to the right back position with Arbeloa being firmly of the right back, rather than right wing back, mould. At centre half I would opt for Chiellini from Juventus who would also offer an alternative on the left side.
In midfield, I think Daniele De Rossi would be awesome alongside Xabi Alonso and I would look to bring a young creative midfielder in to learn off Alonso and be his understudy. To bring in another Galactico in that position would only result in unrest, I feel.
Allowing Robben to leave was a big mistake in my eyes. He has been simply superb this season for Bayern and would have added to Madrid's potency if he had stayed. Of course, with Ronaldo cutting in all the time, it may be prudent to go for an old fashioned winger and look to stretch play and add variation. With this in mind, I would go for David Silva, with the clear instructions to stay glued to the wing.
Up front, it would have to be Drogba. With the creativity and trickery in the attacking midfield positions, there is really no need to have a wildly skilful centre forward for me. Drogba would absolutely destroy the defences in Spain with his physical game, it is just a shame that he has the theatrical side to his game!
Of course, acquiring that selection of players would not be easy and would, most likely, cost a lot of money but, hey, it's Madrid!
Posted by Matt Dalton | 2 June, 2010, 16:31Everyone above is looking for an overhaul – I think he already has the players at his disposal (I'm not a fan of mass change).
Ronaldo & Higuian (who scored in the high 20's each) with the rumoured arrival of Silva and/or De Maria would be capable of breaking down any defence in Europe.
The real task here is getting the best out of Kaka – who, in comparison, would play the Sneijder role. The problem they have is that Ronaldo roams and tries to get involved in every part of the game, often eridicating the need for someone as skilled and tactically astute as Kaka – that, I feel, is their main issue and something that can be sorted out without the change of personnel.
Finding the right holding midfield to play alongside Alonso is a very important job for Mourinho to do. Somebody who protects the defence (like Cambiasso) is important for tough games (ultimately where Real's season went wrong, rather than losing against the smaller teams) rather than someone who is quick to the tackle like L Diarra. M Diarra would have been my choice a few years ago but I don't feel he's up to the standard anymore.
In defence they're still short of a left back. Marcelo has come a long way but he's turned into, like most Brazlians, a more attacking wide player.
I like the influence Ramos commands from right back, but he is error prone making the need for this defensive midfielder to hold and fill the gaps rather than get about amongst them (a la Mascherno and L Diarra).
The main position I'd look to break the bank with, which runs against Madrid's traditions but might be in the mind of Mourinho is that dominant centre back like Steve A said above. Although they did have a record number of points this time round and Lyon only scored against them once, having a commanding centreback is very important towards the mentality of the team.
Posted by Steven Jones | 3 June, 2010, 12:36I agree with a lot of what you say Steve and certainly agree that a commanding centre half is needed. In terms of the left back berth, the links with Ashley Cole would suggest that Mourinho agrees that is an area that also needs tightening up.
I don't think the squad needs a massive overhaul but I am not so sure that it is Mourinho's style to simply come in and work with what he has. I will be interested to see which positions he looks to bring in his own players for. Chances are, I have it totally wrong though!
Posted by Matt Dalton | 3 June, 2010, 16:15