Real Madrid's Identity Crisis: A Pattern of Problems

Real Madrid’s slow start has not just raised eyebrows in Spain. It has triggered something closer to an identity crisis.

Seven games into La Liga, the European giants sit fourth with 15 points. Respectable on paper. Alarming by their own standards. Inside and outside the club, the sense is the same: this isn’t just a blip, it’s a pattern.

“The same problems for two and a half years”

Alvaro Benito, a former Real Madrid player and now a prominent analyst, laid the situation bare after the 2-1 derby defeat to Atletico at the Metropolitano. Speaking to Cadena SER, his words carried the frustration of someone who has watched this story repeat itself.

“Here the thinking needs to be much deeper,” he said. “If you have been seeing the same problems on the pitch for two and a half years, then the nature of these problems is exactly the same.”

Different coaches, same issues. That was his central accusation.

“We do not see any change with the coaches, despite the different nature of each of them. So the problem is much deeper. Isn't it? That is what I am saying.”

For Benito, the derby didn’t reveal anything new. It simply confirmed what had been visible for too long.

Wins that don’t convince

Real Madrid still win games. That, he argued, is part of the problem. Results sometimes paper over cracks that are obvious to anyone watching closely.

“The problems have persisted for two and a half years, and nothing has been solved,” he continued. “You can win. For example, you won the last match against Elche, but the impression the team leaves at a collective level is that the same problems keep recurring.”

This is not about a single bad night or a single tactical misstep. It is about a team that, in his view, lacks a clear, consistent idea of play.

When Madrid went to the Metropolitano, Benito felt the script was almost inevitable.

“We could all have expected that, barring something exceptional, when you come to the Metropolitano stadium you would see what we in fact saw. You could have won or lost, but I am not talking about losing or winning, because the road that leads to the result can take different paths.”

The result, for him, is secondary. The way Madrid arrive at it is what truly matters.

Beyond refereeing and ifs and buts

Benito briefly touched on a key incident, pointing out how a single decision might have changed the outcome.

“If Cuti Romero had been sent off in the first half, then you might even have been able to win the match,” he noted.

But he immediately steered back to his main concern.

“I am talking about the collective impression, about the idea of play, what you offer, and which players you will put in the starting line-up in most matches.”

In other words: forget the what-ifs. Look at the structure. Look at the plan. Or the lack of one.

A Mourinho team that doesn’t look like Mourinho

At the heart of Benito’s criticism lies a striking observation: Jose Mourinho, a coach defined for decades by a very clear footballing identity, is not imposing that identity on this Real Madrid side.

He argued that the Portuguese is not applying his trademark philosophy at the club, a failure that could prove fatal for a team built to counter-attack with precision and power.

“Mourinho historically relies on a very strong medium defensive block, a team with compact lines, ferocious pressing, winning the ball back and then attacking directly and quickly. Excellent,” Benito explained.

“This style would be ideal for Real Madrid, given the characteristics of the players they have, but the problem is that we do not see it.”

That is the crux. A squad seemingly tailored for a sharp, ruthless transition game, yet a team that does not consistently press, does not hold compact lines, and does not attack with the direct clarity Mourinho’s best sides are known for.

For a club of Real Madrid’s scale, that disconnect between coach, players, and playing idea is not a minor tactical flaw. It is a structural question that hangs over the season: how long can a project this big live without a clearly defined identity on the pitch?