Jose Mourinho gave Real Madrid players a ‘secret’ challenge right before the La Liga season started.
Jose Mourinho is about to start his second time as Real Madrid’s manager with an away game against Espanyol in Barcelona. Fans of Los Blancos are excited to see how their team will do in the first La Liga match. Winning games against teams like Espanyol will be key if Real Madrid wants to win the league this season.
Everyone is curious about which players Mourinho will pick for the match against the Catalan club. The Portuguese coach has already told his squad who will start but has also given them a fun challenge to keep it a secret. Real Madrid has had problems with information leaking from the team before, something Mourinho knows well from his first time coaching there.
Last season, there was a fuss after Federico Valverde accused Aurelien Tchouameni of leaking info to reporters, which caused a big argument. Now, Mourinho has made a game out of it for the journalists, daring them to use their “connections” to find out the lineup while also trying to spot which player might be the leaker.
According to Marca, Mourinho said, “Let’s see who among you has the best connections. The players already know who’s playing; it’s not my job to keep it a secret. Maybe you’ll get the information in a few hours.”
Mourinho’s assistant from his first time at Madrid, Rui Faria, said they thought they knew who the leaker was but couldn’t really do much about it. He said, “We knew who the mole was; we were almost sure. The proof was in the newspapers. You can’t really prove it, but you almost know how things happen.”
There were also rumors about leaks when Mourinho was at Manchester United, so he’s keen to stop that from happening again at the Bernabeu.
This secret-keeping challenge is just one of Mourinho’s new strategies to help the club succeed. It’s been reported that he made 10 important requests when he came back.
Before he officially took the job, Mourinho had a video call with club president Florentino Perez to make sure everything was set up for success. He asked for a contract of at least two years and full control over the players and the dressing room, meaning no one else can interfere with his team choices.
He wanted to bring his own coaching team but was okay with keeping Alvaro Arbeloa, who has since left for Fulham. However, Mourinho suggested the fitness coach Antonio Pintus should leave.
He also insisted on having direct contact with the medical team because of the many injuries Real Madrid had recently.
At 63, Mourinho prefers to limit his own press duties and wants someone else to be the main spokesperson. He also wants to communicate directly with Perez, as this was a frustration last time.
He asked for a shorter and less stressful preseason with fewer friendly games so he can focus more on training the players physically and mentally.
Finally, Mourinho made clear that all these requests are connected — if even one isn’t agreed to, he won’t take the job.