Mourinho Returns to Bernabéu: Starting Fresh with Real Madrid

Real Madrid have barely caught their breath from the opening scare against Espanyol and already the Santiago Bernabéu is calling. The second official game of the season doubles as the first night back home, and a lot has changed since this stadium last saw its team: a new man on the touchline, a reshaped dressing room, and a different kind of noise around the club.

The delayed Matchday 1 clash with Real Sociedad — pushed back because several Madrid stars returned late from international duty — now becomes the stage for Jose Mourinho’s first home game of his second spell. He walked into the press room with the usual spotlight on him and, as always, he owned it.

“We start from scratch” – but not quite

Asked how far along he was in getting his ideas across, Mourinho didn’t pretend this was a simple continuation of what came before.

“We start from scratch, although it is not from scratch, people already have feelings,” he said. “There is a willingness to do things right and to support the team.”

The message was clear: this is a reset, but not a blank slate. The players know the weight of the shirt. Now they have to learn his way of carrying it.

Managing that transition means managing minutes. Especially for those 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,” Mourinho explained. “My vision is mixed with data and with what the players tell me, the knowledge that each one has of himself.”

The science is there. So is the feel. Mourinho insists he will use both.

Vinicius Jr at the centre of the storm

The conversation inevitably turned to Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian has lived under a constant barrage: insults from the stands, rough treatment on the pitch, and a sense that the whistle often comes too late — if at all.

Mourinho didn’t dodge it. He leaned in.

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

“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 then separated Vinicius from the pack, not in hype, but in simple observation.

“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,” Mourinho 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 Benfica, he watched this from afar. Now he lives it from the inside.

“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, Mourinho made a point of backing the officials as a group.

“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,” he admitted, before adding with a pointed aside: “Yes Negreira, yes friends, I’m not there. I’m totally with the referees.”

A calmer Mourinho, same edge

On the touchline, the old fire has been replaced by something more controlled. At least on the surface.

“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.”

The standards, though, have not softened.

“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.”

Dark side under control, yes. Gone? Hardly.

And he will need that competitive edge to handle what many already call the most devastating trident in world football.

“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 stars. Decisions about egos. Decisions that will define the season.

The Bernabéu reunion and the market question

His return to the Bernabéu could easily have become a tribute act. Mourinho refused that.

“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,” he said.

The focus, he insists, must be on the players, not the coach’s comeback narrative.

On the transfer market, he sounded content but not naive.

“It’s still open, you never know what you can go through,” Mourinho said. “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.”

For now, he plans with what he has. If the phone rings, everything can change.

Valverde, Mbappé, Carlos Espi, Endrick: fine-tuning the pieces

The second half of the press conference dug into individuals. Federico Valverde came up first, and Mourinho was blunt about how he sees the Uruguayan.

“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.”

He then widened the lens to modern roles.

“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.”

Emergency fixes are part of the game, he argued, but they shouldn’t become permanent identities.

On whether Carlos Espi and Kylian Mbappé can share the pitch, Mourinho was open to the idea — and to even more attacking firepower.

“We can see them together, or with Endrick,” he said. “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.”

Different tools for different problems. And Mourinho clearly likes the variety.

Tchouameni’s delayed start and Endrick’s careful handling

Aurelien Tchouameni’s situation is more delicate. The midfielder is still carrying the consequences of a World Cup where he pushed himself to the limit.

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

“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%.”

Short-term sacrifice for long-term control of the midfield. Madrid can afford patience now; they may not be able to later.

Endrick, another name loaded with expectation, is also being handled with care.

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

“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.”

The line was half-joke, half-warning: Endrick is too valuable to rush, too special to lose.

Now comes Real Sociedad, the Bernabéu lights, and the first true glimpse of Mourinho’s Madrid at home. He says he is calmer. He says the market is “closed.” He says he wants all three of Mbappé, Bellingham and Vinicius.

What happens when the season’s first real storm hits this new project will tell us how much of the old Mourinho really stayed behind.