Real Madrid Wins Teresa Herrera Cup but Midfield Concerns Persist
Real Madrid lift a trophy. The doubts stay exactly where they were.
José Mourinho’s side edged past Deportivo La Coruña to win the Teresa Herrera Cup at Riazor, a result that looks neat on paper and hollow to those who have watched Madrid’s pre-season unfold. The friendly title goes in the cabinet; the structural problem in midfield, analysts insist, is coming along for the ride into the new campaign.
On SER Deportivos, journalists Antonio Romero and Tomás Roncero stripped away the comfort of a summer win and went straight for the weak spot.
Romero began with a caveat: pre-season deceives. Legs are heavy, ideas are half-formed, and by his estimate Madrid are operating at “20 to 30%” of their potential. But even through that fog, one issue stands out.
“Real Madrid still feel they are missing a playmaker in midfield,” he argued. The spine looks split in two: “They have a superb defensive team, and an almost unbeatable attacking force, but there is room for improvement in midfield.”
The win in La Coruña, secured with a full-strength XI in Mourinho’s second spell, did nothing to change that diagnosis.
Rodri’s shadow and a warning
If Romero pointed at the gap, Roncero underlined how it opened.
The failure to land Rodri Hernández hangs over the squad build. For Roncero, it is not a footnote; it is the starting point of Madrid’s biggest risk.
“If you wanted to sign Rodri and you did not, that means you have to fill that void. If you do not end up signing him, you will feel this deficiency all season,” he warned, pushing back against any attempt from the club to downplay the issue.
The message was blunt: you cannot chase a player of that profile all summer and then pretend the need was imaginary.
The “Mourinho method” – and a name from Manchester
So where does the solution come from? Romero offered a route that leans on the man on the touchline.
He dubbed it “the Mourinho method”: building a winning side that can, at times, bypass the traditional playmaking hub in midfield. If any coach can do that, Romero suggested, it is Mourinho. But even that idea came with a reminder.
“There is no need to look far to see that Real Madrid’s most successful team in history included Casemiro, Kroos and Modrić,” he said. The standard has been set by a trio who controlled games, not just survived them.
To replicate a piece of that balance, Romero floated a single, clear candidate for the sacrificial role.
“Based on what I saw in La Coruña and what I have seen from him at City and his experience, I think Bernardo Silva would accept this sacrifice,” he said.
In Romero’s eyes, the Portuguese playmaker could become Mourinho’s on-field lieutenant, dropping deeper to work alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni.
“He can be a soldier for Mourinho, and if he is asked to play alongside Tchouaméni and provide some support, he reminds me a little of Modrić,” Romero added, before explicitly ruling out Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Güler, Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde for that specific function.
The idea is clear: not just another midfielder, but one willing to bend his natural game to patch a tactical hole.
Patience for Diomande, excitement for Cucurella
The debate did not stop at the established names. Attention turned to the new faces who will feel the weight of the white shirt soon enough.
Yan Diomande, still a teenager, became Romero’s plea for calm. The step from fleeting promise to Bernabéu expectation is enormous, and he wanted that on record.
Real Madrid, he stressed, is a different planet. It is not about “playing five good minutes with Leganés”; it is about surviving – and then thriving – in a stadium that demands excellence every three days.
Down the left flank, though, there is no call for patience. There is anticipation.
Romero closed with a nod to Cucurella, the full-back who has quickly captured the imagination.
“Diomande attracts a lot of attention, but the player everyone is eager to see running down the wing at the Bernabéu is Cucurella,” he said. “He is the type of footballer you have to love. Since Marcelo and Roberto Carlos, we have had a feeling at the Bernabéu that we will be able to enjoy a vertical left-back.”
A friendly trophy is already in the bag. The real question now is whether Mourinho and Madrid can find that missing heartbeat in midfield before the season starts asking harder questions than Deportivo ever could.
