“He’s a new Mourinho”, “he has changed”, “he seems more peaceful”… Here are some of the phrases that we could hear during the first weeks of this second Mourinho era in Madrid. Very confrontational and divisive during his first adventure in Madrid in the early 2010s, the Special One actually showed a slightly calmer face, less tense, more open and warmer. But it didn’t last long. As criticism began to fall on the team, in particular because of the content of the matches considered quite mediocre, Mourinho is gradually becoming the person he was more than ten years ago.
We thus sense a tense Mourinho, always on the defensive, in perpetual search of enemies and sometimes going so far as to come close to victimization. Of course, it is also, in part at least, a management strategy aimed at drawing criticism on himself rather than on the team. A shield effect which, however, does not really work… As at the time, each media appearance has become a settling of scores and the Portuguese has already attacked practically everyone since his return. Latest target to date: the Spanish Federation (RFEF) and its disciplinary committee, with this sanction against Vinicius Jr falling just before the match against AS Roma (3-4), which is not normal according to the Portuguese.
Mourinho is on fire
Daily life A.S. takes stock of the Portuguese coach’s enemies since his return. The Federation (via its disciplinary committee) is therefore in the Portuguese’s sights. But not only that. La Liga was also mentioned several times in the Portuguese’s public complaints, regarding the times of certain matches. The match before the November break, in Valencia, 72 hours after a trip against AEK Athens, made the Portuguese mad with rage, and this is not the first time. Obviously, he also accused the press on numerous occasions, accusing journalists of wishing his team harm, sometimes going so far as to refuse to appear at a press conference.
But if there is one collective or one institution that Mourinho has in his sights, it is the referees. Each time he speaks, the Portuguese coach displays his dissatisfaction with the level of the men at the whistle. He also mentioned, on several occasions already, the famous Negreira affair, explicitly suggesting that in Spain, the arbitration body tends to lean towards FC Barcelona. No doubt, Mourinho is back. But this time, Madrid public opinion will be much less complacent with him, and many are already accusing him of talking about referees so often to hide the fairly average performances of his team…
