Mourinho Returns to Bernabéu: A Fresh Start for Real Madrid

Real Madrid have barely drawn breath from their opening scare at Espanyol and they are already staring at something far bigger: a first home game of the season and José Mourinho’s return to the Santiago Bernabéu touchline in an official match.

The stadium is different. The squad is different. The man in charge insists he is different too.

“It’s like starting from scratch,” Mourinho admitted before the rescheduled Matchday 1 clash with Real Sociedad, postponed earlier due to the late return of several Madrid players from the World Cup. “We start from scratch, although it is not from scratch, people already have feelings. There is a willingness to do things right and to support the team.”

The message was clear: new cycle, same demands.

Managing legs and egos

Mourinho spent a long stretch of his press conference on something he has always obsessed over – control. This time, not just of games, but of minutes.

With several players coming off a heavy World Cup workload, he underlined the fine line between protection and risk.

“You have to do this management well between playing nothing and playing a lot, for example Cucurella. I gave him 30 minutes,” he explained. “My vision is mixed with data and with what the players tell me, the knowledge that each one has of himself.”

It is classic Mourinho: science, yes, but always filtered through his own feel for the dressing room.

Vinicius in the firing line

The conversation inevitably swung towards Vinicius Jr., a recurring flashpoint in Spanish football – targeted from the stands, kicked on the pitch, and too often left without proper protection.

Mourinho did not dodge it.

“The reaction of the normal public can be controlled. Vinicius’ relationship with the rival stand can improve. But the kicks, insults, and aggressions are due to the referee,” he said.

“Justice must be given. It is the referee who has to protect the players and the game. You can work on your relationship with your adversaries.”

He then went a step further, pointing to what he sees as a pattern in how Vinicius is refereed.

“Last season I saw every match of Madrid and Barcelona. But what I have seen now, in preseason, it is obvious that there is a difference between Vinicius and other players,” Mourinho insisted.

“A dynamic has been entered, the opponents know they can. If they foul Vini, the yellow card arrives after making 10 fouls. It's a treatment I don't like.”

From a rival coach at Benfica to guardian of Madrid’s star winger, his stance has hardened.

“When I was Benfica coach, I was only interested in Benfica. Vini may have more control, but if it's a kick and aggression, it's expulsion.”

Even so, he chose to underline his trust in Spanish officiating, with a pointed aside.

“After seeing the last game, I really liked the refereeing. I trust the Spanish refereeing. I always trust the referee. After the game sometimes there are things I don't like,” he said, before adding with a sly jab: “Yes Negreira, yes friends, I'm not there. I'm totally with the referees.”

A calmer Mourinho, same ruthless edge

Mourinho also turned the spotlight on himself. The old volcanic figure on the touchline, he suggested, has cooled.

“I have been feeling calmer for years, with more control of my emotions. But it's not something new. Now I face difficult situations or frustrations, because we have not yet lost.”

Then came a line that will resonate in the Madrid dressing room.

“I don't like laziness, I like people who work for Real Madrid. So far I haven't seen laziness, everyone gives everything. And everyone protects me from my dark side. I feel good like this.”

The “dark side” is still there. The squad, for now, is keeping it in check.

Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinicius: a luxury problem

Asked about managing what many already call the best attacking trident in the world, Mourinho did not pretend it was a burden.

“The most complicated thing is when you don't have top-level players. That has happened to me in other teams. Not here. I want all three of them (Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinicius) and I am here to make decisions.”

The Bernabéu will judge those decisions quickly, starting with Real Sociedad.

“I don't want the Bernabeu to receive me in a particular way, I want it to receive the team as its team, with its passion,” he said. The focus, he insisted, must stay on the players.

Market stance: “For me, it’s closed”

With the transfer window still open, Mourinho was asked whether his squad could still change. Officially, he is shutting that door.

“It's still open, you never know what you can go through. At the moment everything is closed, but the president or José Ángel can call me to tell me that there is an offer for one. For me, the market is closed. I would like to stay with this squad this season.”

He knows football can turn on a phone call. But his ideal scenario is continuity.

Valverde, Tchouameni, Endrick: fine-tuning the pieces

Once the big themes were done, the questions drilled down into individuals.

On Federico Valverde, Mourinho was clear: no more experiments at full-back.

“I don't like it when they make him play on the right back. It has happened to him in the past. For me, he is a midfield player. He can be more positional, or more mobile.”

“Teams must have solutions. A full-back is a full-back, but today he can be a winger. Or like Trent, who can play inside,” he said, stressing that makeshift roles should not become permanent identities.

On the possibility of Carlos Espi and Kylian Mbappé sharing the pitch, Mourinho sounded open and tactical.

“We can see them together, or with Endrick. Carlos has a different profile, it was perfect for how the game against Espanyol was. I thought Carlos could be important at that time to suffocate the rival.”

Tchouameni’s situation, though, is about patience rather than tactics.

“He has suffered a lot in the World Cup. He risked everything. He played in the semifinals with everything,” Mourinho revealed.

“He has a setback, the player is ready to play and could have continued, but we believe he should start the season at 100%. We have decided with him and the staff to wait, so that he returns a week or two later, but 100%.”

Endrick, meanwhile, remains one of the most intriguing names on Madrid’s books, even as he manages a minor issue.

“There is a specific problem next to the tendon, but it is more of a precaution. He's a player I like so much,” Mourinho said.

“He has had so many, so many offers from clubs. I didn't want to give in. I'm sure he's going to get to Carlo Ancelotti's first call. He will call me directly.”

The line drew a smile, but the message was serious: Mourinho is already staking a claim in shaping the Brazilian’s future.

A new era under old fire

Real Madrid’s season is barely underway, yet the stakes are already rising. A coach who insists he has mellowed. A squad stacked with superstars. A Bernabéu waiting to see whether this version of Mourinho brings trophies, conflict, or both.

Real Sociedad arrive next. The real judgment starts now.