Jose Mourinho's 'violent' years of Real Madrid infamy, and his Champions League return

When the Champions League anthem swells at the Bernabéu tonight, Jose Mourinho will stride through the same tunnel he once stalked as Real Madrid’s combative coach, only this time in the colours of Benfica. The Portuguese’s first return to the stadium since his turbulent 2010-13 tenure arrives freighted with fresh controversy: a touchline dismissal in Lisbon last week, allegations of racist abuse aimed at Vinícius Júnior, and a UEFA investigation hanging over the tie. It is the perfect stage for a man whose Madrid years were defined by conflict, conspiracy claims and, in his own words, an atmosphere “almost violent”.

Mourinho arrived in the Spanish capital in June 2010 fresh from a treble with Inter and a semi-final dismantling of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. “I like big challenges,” he declared at his presentation. The early months delivered 32 points from 12 league fixtures, yet the Portuguese was already sparring with the media, dismissing local darling Pedro León and branding Sevilla’s Gregorio Manzano a nobody. A 5-0 Clásico humiliation at Camp Nou in November appeared a setback; instead it became the springboard for Mourinho to consolidate power, marginalising sporting director Jorge Valdano and demanding “a dog, not a cat” to upgrade on Karim Benzema.

The spring of 2011 delivered four Clásicos in 17 days. After a 1-1 league draw effectively handed Barcelona the title, Ronaldo’s extra-time header won the Copa del Rey final. The Champions League semi-final, however, detonated Mourinho’s Madrid career. Pepe’s red card and Lionel Messi’s Bernabéu brace provoked a remarkable post-match monologue in which the coach alleged a six-referee, UEFA-UNICEF conspiracy. A €50,000 fine and five-game ban (reduced to three on appeal) followed; Barcelona lifted the trophy at Wembley.

Hostility escalated. In the August 2011 Supercopa return at Camp Nou, Mourinho poked then-Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye during a mass brawl and later referred to him as “Pito”, Spanish slang for penis. Refusing to apologise, Mourinho hinted at resignation before issuing a statement addressed “only to Madridistas”. Captain Iker Casillas broke ranks, phoning Spain team-mate Xavi to ease tensions; Mourinho dropped the goalkeeper, explaining he had felt “untouchable”. When Barcelona won 3-1 at the Bernabéu in December, whistles rained down on the coach. “Zidane, Ronaldo, Cristiano have been whistled. Why not me?” he shrugged.

Despite a record 100-point, 121-goal league triumph in 2011-12, Champions League pain persisted as Bayern Munich eliminated Madrid on penalties. Mourinho leveraged the defeat to demand greater transfer control; Zidane was demoted from sporting director to academy duties. By the 2012-13 campaign, fractures became chasms. One win from the first four league games prompted Mourinho to declare, “At this moment I have no team.” Casillas and Sergio Ramos reportedly told president Florentino Pérez “it’s him or us”; Diego López arrived and the captain was benched. After a 4-1 semi-final first-leg defeat at Borussia Dortmund, Ronaldo celebrated a goal by telling Mourinho to “go f*** yourself” in Portuguese. A Copa del Rey final loss to Atlético at the Bernabéu, both manager and Ronaldo red-carded, sealed Mourinho’s exit. “Each coach has their personality,” Pérez said at the joint-departure announcement. “We’re proud of where we are now.”

Mourinho left without being sacked, a rarity at Madrid, and has since guided Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham through seven Champions League campaigns without returning to the Bernabéu until tonight. Suspension for last week’s red card means fans will be denied the chance to voice their verdict in person, yet the stadium’s ghosts remain. Current coach Álvaro Arbeloa, once a staunch Mourinho lieutenant, argues the Portuguese instilled the winning mentality that underpinned subsequent European triumphs under Ancelotti and Zidane. Mourinho, meanwhile, downplays talk of a second Madrid reign, praising Arbeloa and citing a break clause in his Benfica deal while simultaneously invoking “a connection that lasts forever” with the club.

Whether that connection survives this week’s acrimony is doubtful. UEFA’s racism investigation, Prestianni’s provisional suspension and Mourinho’s public spat with Vinícius have reopened old wounds. For a manager who once turned a 5-0 defeat into a power grab and an eye-poke into a rallying cry, the Bernabéu stage remains irresistibly combustible. Thirteen years on from his bitter departure, Jose Mourinho’s Madrid story still feels anything but finished.