The Portuguese coach, who started pre-season on July 13, led a training match against Alcorcón from Primera RFEF on Friday at the Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas, in his first contact with the press since his return.
The return of José Mourinho to the Real Madrid bench is progressing in almost complete silence. The Portuguese coach directed his first friendly match of the pre-season on Friday, a training match against Alcorcón from Primera RFEF at the Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas, and did so without a press conference or official presentation event. The club opened its doors to the media for a brief period, but the coach did not appear before the microphones.
Mourinho has been working in Valdebebas for two weeks now in an unusually low profile for him. The World Cup, which has captured media attention and left Madrid with a very reduced squad, has contributed to his return going unnoticed. There was not even the official unveiling that was expected last week; club sources indicate that it was the coach himself who requested to postpone it.
The reason for this delay is related to the premiere of his documentary on Netflix, scheduled for August 11. It is speculated that Mourinho will not sit before a microphone until August 21, the eve of Real Madrid's league debut in Cornellà-El Prat against Espanyol. Until then, he has only spoken through the club's official channels, without making any notable headlines.
The squad available to Mourinho is still very limited due to the World Cup. Of the eight first-team players who started pre-season on July 13 (Lunin, Trent, Huijsen, Asencio, Carreras, Camavinga, Mastantuono, and Gonzalo), Arda Güler and Fede Valverde, both eliminated in the tournament's first phase, and the youth player Thiago Pitarch, after winning the U19 European Championship with Spain, have joined this week. The internationals who are competing in the final rounds, as well as the injured Militao, Rodrygo, and Mendy, are still missing.
The lack of players has forced Real Madrid to forgo the traditional summer tour. All preparations are being carried out in Valdebebas, with three confirmed friendlies: against Fiorentina in Austria on August 1, against Ferencváros in Budapest on August 8, and the Teresa Herrera Trophy against Deportivo in Riazor on August 12. The match on Friday against Alcorcón served as a first real test, albeit behind closed doors.
The secrecy surrounding Mourinho contrasts with the noise that his figure has historically generated. The Portuguese returns to Real Madrid eleven years after his departure in 2013, with the mission of returning the team to the elite of European football after a season without titles. His first major challenge will be to manage the return of the internationals and to fine-tune a team that, apart from the signings of Trent Alexander-Arnold and young Mastantuono, retains the core of last season.
For Madrid fans, the wait is long. The first opportunity to see Mourinho in real action will be on August 1 against Fiorentina, although the coach may not appear in public until the league debut. Until then, the silence in Valdebebas is only broken by the sound of balls and the orders of the Portuguese, who is already preparing in the shadows for what promises to be an intense season.
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