Mourinho Fires Back at Last Season's Critics
The Portuguese returns to Real Madrid, and Spanish media are already debating whether he is still an elite coach.
The Portuguese returns to Real Madrid, and Spanish media are already debating whether he is still an elite coach.
José Mourinho has given an interview to El Chiringuito TV in which he reflected on last season and the club's failures, stressing that the responsibility does not lie solely with coaches and players. His return to Real Madrid, reported on August 19, 2026, by Fabrizio Romano and Goal.com, is already sparking heated reactions in Spanish public opinion.
In the interview with El Chiringuito TV, Mourinho commented on last season, mentioning Xabi Alonso and Árbeloa, saying they "paid the price" for the failures. However, he emphasized that many factors influence the outcome of matches.
"Last season, Xabi Alonso and Árbeloa paid the price... but many factors impact the win or the loss," Mourinho stated.
He also offered a broader assessment of responsibility within the club:
"A lot of people failed. Not just coaches or players, people inside the club too," he said.
The show "La Tribu" on Radio Marca devoted significant attention to Mourinho's return to Madrid. Debate participants were divided over what kind of Mourinho will appear in his new stint at the Santiago Bernabéu.
One participant expressed confidence that the public will see a different version of the Portuguese: "I think we will see a different version from the one we saw in 2011." Others, however, are skeptical, believing that Mourinho cannot be separated from his controversial personality.
Regarding his character, one participant said: "What Mourinho does is not something contrived, and it is not a shield he hides behind. Mourinho is like this," concluding that he must be accepted in full: "You have to take the whole package from him."
The most heated debate centered on whether Mourinho is still a world-class coach. One participant rated him as a "very good coach," but no longer at the level of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.
The response was swift: "Mourinho is first class, first, first." His defenders pointed out that the Portuguese "innovated and made his teams competitive," and that his influence on football transcends the results of recent seasons.
Critics, on the other hand, reminded of his decline and increasingly rare trophies, citing his tenure at Roma, the defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final, and the subsequent stints in Turkey and Portugal.
Some debate participants are convinced that Real Madrid was not just looking for a coach, but also a personality. "Real Madrid signed Mourinho because he is an institution, and because he represents a way of being," one of them said, alluding to his first tenure and clashes with Barcelona.
In the end, results will decide everything. As highlighted in the discussion, his true battle "will not be his personal battle, but rather an attempt to make Real Madrid win."
Mourinho returns at a time when Real Madrid has not won the Spanish title for two years, while Barcelona dominates. The debate concluded with the sentence: "Mourinho is what Florentino Pérez brings."
