Marca: Mourinho still demands rigorous training but is more humane

According to Marca, Mourinho, returning to Real Madrid, still maintains a high-intensity work discipline, but his mindset is more selfless and humane.

Mourinho will be responsible for rebuilding the team after Ancelotti's glorious era and last season's turbulence. Last season, Real Madrid successively lost faith in Xabi Alonso, and Arbeloa also failed to turn the tide. Coupled with controversial transfer decisions, even the Bernabéu eventually lost patience. Now, the club has handed over the command to a familiar old acquaintance.

Real Madrid ultimately chose a familiar face to restore order and re-establish coaching authority—an authority that the club's top brass believes has been severely damaged in recent years. After 14 seasons, "The Special One" has returned, but in a slightly different version.

Mourinho, as always, has established his territory: maximum demands, attention to every detail, and almost non-stop work. According to those who have worked with him for a long time, the Portuguese has not changed much in terms of on-field work over the years. His goal is to establish a discipline that may have been lost in recent seasons and to rebuild a protective wall for the team. In his first stint at Real Madrid, the keyword was "imposition," which caused friction with almost all the veteran players at the time, but those who know him believe that today he seeks more consensus.

"To establish a work culture, a sense of responsibility, ambition, and something I am very familiar with—the responsibility and honor of working for Real Madrid. I really like this concept. Not working at Real Madrid, but working for Real Madrid. It is with this spirit of mission that I have come here," Mourinho said upon arriving at the club's official channel.

The players who have already arrived at the Valdebebas training base have already felt Mourinho's strictness. The first week involved five days of training, three of which were double sessions. The first training session started at 10 AM, but players often arrived at the training base two hours early. Last season, more than one player arrived at the last minute, with their tires almost scraping the entrance to the base. Mourinho alternates between physical and tactical training, but as always, ball work remains dominant. His training sessions are not excessively long, but the intensity is always high. The coach's work also affects many off-field structures of the club; he had already discussed several changes with the top management before officially stepping into Valdebebas.

Mourinho is waiting for all players to return, but in the meantime, he has been calling up players from the academy to complete training. Mourinho keeps a close eye on these youngsters, as he likes to promote players he believes can help during the season. Just as in 2010 when he first arrived at Real Madrid, with a star-studded squad, new signings and key players all had to earn their place through hard work. Mourinho has never lost this obsession; when he was at Benfica, he often slept directly at the training base, especially when his family was not in Lisbon.

During his first tenure at Real Madrid, Mourinho never shied away from any conflict: referees, Barcelona, the media... But after this return, some people who have spoken with him believe that the Portuguese is no longer as aggressive towards the outside world as he was during those three years. On the issue of referees, Real Madrid has already drawn its own lines and started fighting, no longer needing the coach to step forward. The same is largely true for other institutions, with only Arbeloa maintaining the club's passionate rhetoric during this period. Therefore, the older Mourinho, 13 years later, may no longer ignite battles on all fronts. The coach has entered a new phase, and the impression is that he wants to start from scratch, unite everyone, and work in the same direction.

Mourinho himself spoke about his transformation in an interview with UEFA about a year ago. "Before, I thought more about myself, I was more self-centered, but now I have changed, I feel more selfless. I feel that I am in football to help others, not to help myself. I am here to help my players, not to think about my own future. I think more about the club, more about the happiness of the fans, rather than myself." Now, he needs to deliver on these changes at Real Madrid.

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