“Now is not the time to talk about Real Madrid,” Mourinho is reported to have told Spain’s biggest-selling newspaper,Marca, at the weekend. And as it was delighted to point out — because its front page had him down as the club’s next coach — that was not exactly a denial of his interest in the job of resurrecting football’s most famous underachievers.
Yesterday, Marca was claiming that Mourinho had requested a copy of its newspaper and assured it that he would be watching last night’s match in which Real Madrid beat Real Zarago-za 1-0 with David Beckham looking on from the stands at the Bernabéu. The club’s interest in Mourinho is evident and comes from three different sources — the present boardroom, those with aspirations of sitting in the boardroom and the fans.
Real supporters’ profile of a dream manager would be someone who wins trophies, plays exciting football, brings big-name players and rubs Barcelona up the wrong way. Mourinho fits on most counts. There is still support for Vicente Del Bosque, the former coach, who was dismissed by Florentino Pérez, the former president, a couple of days after winning the league in 2003, but even his supporters would admit that he represents the past and Mourinho the future.
Fabio Capello, the present coach, has never been particularly popular with fans. In his first spell at the club he won the league in his first season in 1997, but his first season was his last in that stint, despite the success, because his dull ultra-Italian style of football did not excite. He is still playing the same brand, only it is no longer bringing results. He has already lost more games this time around than he did in the entire season ten years ago.
Capello was brought in by Predrag Mijatovic, the Real sporting director, and Ramón Calderón, the club president, and they, too, have one eye on events in West London. Both publicly back their man but privately admit that his second spell is not going to plan. At the start of the season, Capello said that he would lose no more than four games, but the club have already suffered five defeats, and two of those have been at home, where Capello never lost during his first stint.
Both know that if form does not pick up — last night’s result eased the pressure on Capello — heads will have to roll. The stars of the show last night were Fernando Gago and Gonzalo HiguaÍn, two players brought in from Argentina at the turn of the year by Mijatovic. HiguaÍn dazzled on his debut, setting up Ruud van Nistel-rooy for the goal that moved Real up to third in the table.
Calderón and Mijatovic have survival problems of their own, aside from results. On January 29, a Spanish court will rule on the legality of last year’s presidential election and if it decides that a decision not to count postal votes in that election was illegal, Calderón will almost certainly have to stand in another ballot. He and those who stand against him will need a big carrot to dangle in front of the public — Mourinho.
The Portuguese’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has already been contacted by members of the present regime and anyone wanting to win a presidential race will want Mourinho’s colours pinned to their mast, too. Marca assured readers yesterday that Mourinho would be desperate to take the Real challenge because it was exactly that — a challenge especially after more than three seasons in the shadows of Barcelona, where, as Mourinho is always reminded when he returns, he once worked as a translator.
The chance to build a new Real and to haunt the club that failed to recognise the “Special One” when he was in their midst would be too much for him to turn down, they say. And the obstacles that might have existed under the previous regime, when players were signed and selected by the sporting director and the president and not the coach, no longer exist. The mess that Mourinho may well believe Chelsea are entering — with those who know the least about football at the club suddenly making the decisions that matter the most, such as denying him funds for team strengthening — is the very mess from which Real are emerging and there is little doubt that if Mourinho took the job he would have complete control of team affairs.
Bringing in his own players, as far as Real fans are concerned, would mean Frank Lampard. His majestic goal at the Nou Camp in the Champions League this season is almost as legendary in the Spanish capital as Mourinho’s celebratory slide.
“If the Portuguese comes he will come bearing a gift — Frank Lampard,” Marca claimed at the weekend. Lampard’s leaning towards trying a season or two in Spain is well documented and his contract situation would mean that there would be little Chelsea could do to stop his departure.
The present captain of the Barclays Premiership champions is yet to agree a new contract at Stamford Bridge and in May, the 28-year-old will have two years left on his £110,000-a-week deal. Fifa rules mean that providing he told Chelsea within 15 days of the last game of the season that he wanted to leave, they would not be able to stop him and would have to settle for compensation from Real to cover the remainder of his contract.
With Mourinho being linked with a move this summer, to Inter or AC Milan as well as Real, having said recently that Italy was a more likely destination, there has been inevitable speculation about possible replacements at Stamford Bridge. Guus Hiddink has long been mentioned, given that Roman Abramovich helps to pay his wages as coach of Russia, but, having installed the Dutchman, the Chelsea owner is unlikely to want to risk unpopularity in Moscow. Didier Deschamps, now at Juven-tus, was interviewed for the post when Mourinho got the job and he would be in contention.
