The fall of Mourinho's Madrid

If you ask me to summarise the 2012-13 season for Real Madrid, I would like to state the following – “Real Madrid and Mourinho – A partnership not so good”. Indisputably, this is the story of Real Madrid, one of the most successful clubs in Europe. What led to this dismal performance of a club who had with them two most expensive players of the current era along with a manager who called himself the ‘Special One’? (And now recently the ‘Only One’.)

“Like me or not, I am the only one who won the world’s three most important leagues. So, maybe instead of the ‘Special One’, people should start calling me the ‘Only One’ ” – Mourinho

Prior to taking the hot seat at Santiago Bernabeu, Mourinho had brought success to clubs within no time. His three year stint at Chelsea was a notable one, where he, without a slightest of doubt, turned the fortunes of the club in an instant. In his first season with Chelsea, he won the Premier League title, first league title in 50 years for the club, with an all-time record of 95 points along with the FA Cup. No need to mention that he was an instant hit with the fans and footballing fraternity for his achievements with the Blues. Even today, Chelsea fans are craving for him to come back at Stamford Bridge. As a result of his trophy laden stints with Porto and Chelsea, he was one of the highest paid managers in history and it propelled him amongst the best football managers in Europe.

Following this success, he further set new standards for himself, by winning it all with Inter in just the second season with them. When it was expected that Mourinho will stay at Inter, he left for Santiago Bernabeu with heavy expectations on his shoulders. His arrival at Madrid was celebrated by the fans with great intensity. In his first season, he did a decent job. In the subsequent season, he won the La Liga title with some dominance that saw Real Madrid clinch the league by scoring a century of points. Everybody felt that Mourinho was the “Real Deal” to manage Madrid.

Things started off well the following season, though it went on getting worse from mid-season for the Golden Whites of Madrid. Mourinho’s brigade of Di Maria, Ozil, Kaka and Ronaldo failed to recreate the magic of last season even in the domestic league. Their haywire performances on pitch ensured they remained adrift of Barca in the league and just made the cut-off required to qualify for the knock-out stages of Champions League. Ronaldo kept on scoring goals at his own rate, though it was not enough for Madrid.

Jose’s style of management required one thumb of rule to be followed: “No Questions Asked”. But when results aren’t going your way, rules don’t matter. First of all, it was the management that voiced its anger. However, when players talk in public about their own manager, it sends out a different message. They are not taken in good spirit by both the parties. Mourinho’s rifts with senior players like Casillas, Ramos and recently Pepe are not just internal matters any more. Whatever the reason for the rifts, those should have been dealt amicably and obviously not in public. Clearly, he was unsettled after all this chatter took place.

Throughout his managerial career, Mourinho has maintained a strong record against his arch rivals Barcelona. That particular record took a serious hit during his tenure at Santiago Bernabeu. One of the many reasons why Madrid lost to Catalans, was brought up as Jose tried to impose his own style of play in contrast with Madrid’s well known attacking style of play. He had the right to do so since he was very much successful doing it at his previous clubs.

Perhaps, RMFC is not the right fit for his style of play. They did not have the players with the attitude to match Jose’s style of play which primarily includes a strong defence; an area for which Real Madrid is not so famous for. I feel, different recipes (teams) require distinct methods of cooking (style of play) to make it delicious (successful), which was missing here.

Mourinho’s three year spell in Spain was highlighted with frequent spats with players, opposition coaches (poking a finger at Tito Vilanova) and local media. He came under further criticism when he relegated a world class quality goalkeeper, Casillas, to the bench for most of the matches since the beginning of this year. Ramos also felt the heat for not being in his good books. Furthermore, veteran defender Pepe faced his ire and was forced to the bench in favour of young Varane. So I am not surprised if some of the players in this camp would be happy to see his back.

Winning the league, a domestic cup and reaching the semifinals of the Champions League thrice is not enough to pacify the fans of the most successful club in Europe. Though, never forget the fact that Mourinho is the best tactician of the current era. So wherever Jose goes after Madrid and whatever the situation is, he keeps us football lovers assured that we are going to be entertained.