Jose Mourinho, former Barcelona technical staff and Real Madrid coach, has got fans buzzing with his recent statement which has been taken as a hint that he could be on his way back to La Liga.
Reports also indicate that he is being lined up to return to his former club, Real Madrid, if their current manager, Zinedine Zidane, loses his job at the Bernabeu.
He was at the global launch of La Liga and LiveScore’s global partnership, and speaking to interviewers at the launch, he said:
“The most important thing for me is that my next role is with an elite club that has an ambition which challenges and excites me. I miss coaching a lot, but I won’t return to working just for the sake of coaching again.
“I love La Liga and the pride I have to have won this fantastic league is massive.
“I may have left six years ago but trust me, spiritually, and in the manner I speak of La Liga, I am an ambassador even without the official title of ambassador.”
Mourinho’s career on the sidelines began with Barcelona, as a member of Louis Van Gaal’s coaching squad, before making his big break in Portugal with Porto, with whom he won the Champions League. He went on to make his name in the English Premier League with Chelsea and is recognized as their most successful manager ever, winning many trophies over two stints on the sidelines of the London club.
While he is remembered mostly for his time in the EPL, his time in La Liga will always be memorable to fans of the league, as his Madrid side was a dominant force in his three seasons with the club. The epic Clasico battles in which he led Madrid against Barcelona gave life to the tie and made it go global. His matches in charge of Madrid against derby rivals Atletico also gave life to the tie.
What he will be remembered for the most by fans of La Liga outside of his strong personality which saw him cautioned a good number of times as Madrid coach, will be the changes he made teams effect in their setups.
Known as a very pragmatic coach who favours defensive tactics and is an expert at reading teams and adapting his strategy to fit them, playing Mourinho’s Madrid became problematic for most La Liga coaches. La Liga is a league highly rated for its technical style of play, but with the introduction of the non-conforming Mourinho who favoured tactical adeptness, teams and coaches had to figure out how to mix the typical Spanish technicality with tacticality to be able to compete against Mourinho’s Madrid. The effects can still be seen in many clubs, six years after his departure from Madrid and La Liga.
Mourinho is ready to return to coaching and is only waiting for a suitable role to open up in one of Europe’s top five leagues. However, Guillem Balague thinks a return to Madrid and La Liga is definitely on the cards, and Mourinho has gotten wind of the news being peddled by the veteran Spanish reporter.
In a recent interview granted to BBC 5 Live, Mourinho said:
“There is three or four journalists in Spain and if you read them, you are reading the thoughts of Florentino Perez, and they started criticising Zidane. And that’s the beginning of the end sometimes.”
If Mourinho takes what Balague is reporting to be serious, then his statement to BBC 5 Live hold much water especially as he was formerly under Perez’s employ in Madrid. La Liga is not only a great match for the Portuguese, but his star profile could do a lot more for the league.
His playing style may not be new to the teams in the league who have since evolved, but it will be nice to witness the change he is sure to spark as well as the controversies he will raise while at the helm of affairs of Madrid again. Or any other La Liga club.
