There is a phrase that is repeated these days in Valdebebas among those who knew Mourinho during his first stage in Madrid: "He is calmer." The people close to the day-to-day life of the first team have found a somewhat different coach than the one who was the leader of the white team more than a decade ago. They were ultra-competitive years against Guardiola's Barça, of guerrilla wars on the field and off it. Of constant tension that ended up causing the Portuguese to say goodbye. 4,830 days after that 4-2 against Osasuna at the Bernabéu on June 1, 2013, Mourinho returns tonight to a League match with Madrid. They will do it against Espanyol and with a dressing room that everyone looks at with a magnifying glass. "We will see when the bad moments come, and they will come," the Portuguese admitted in the press room.
Yesterday, Mourinho answered 20 questions for 42 minutes and showed spirit, reflection, pause and desire to talk about everything. It was the preview of the league premiere, but also his presentation to the media. Many, still looking at 2013, expected (and still expect) a hard-charging version of the Portuguese similar to that of those years, but those who have shared daily life with him for a long time insist that he has changed: "He chooses his battles very well." And that doesn't mean it doesn't have them.
The 'new' Mourinho who has appeared in the sports city these days is, he also insists, "very calm." Less interested in the permanent war and obsessed with returning to Madrid the trust they have shown in him at a time when his professional career was not at the top in Europe, something similar to what Ancelotti experienced in 2021. «The Mourinho of 2013 cannot advise the Mourinho of today. The one of today is the one who is in a position to advise the one of 2013. A son does not advise a father, right? For me it is easier to be calm now than it was five, 10 or 20 years ago," he explained yesterday.
It seems to have slowed down, although in recent years in Portugal, Türkiye and Italy it has experienced extreme situations. He waited for Anthony Taylor, referee of the Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma, in the stadium parking lot; He denounced the Turkish Federation for alleged aid to Galatasaray when he was coach of Fenerbahce; and at Benfica he was also the center of controversy for his criticism of the Portuguese league referees.
"I need to feel loved"
In Valdebebas everyone is waiting, like in the stands and in the media, for the moment when he comes out to defend the club when necessary. It will come, but it will not wear out like in its first stage. You don't need it either. His relationship with Florentino gives him a position of authority that neither Alonso nor Arbeloa had. Yesterday he acknowledged that the president called him after each title. There is a built trust that allows him to feel supported from day one and his return to Madrid cannot be understood without that bond. "I need to feel loved," he says in his documentary.
