5 best landing spots for former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho

1. Real Madrid

Rafa Benitez just can’t seem to catch a break for Los Blancos. He wins plenty of matches in charge of the Spanish giants but unless he’s doing so with great flair it isn’t enough for the club. He should be very concerned now that Jose Mourinho is available to return to his former club.

Some will tell you that Mourinho has burned too many bridges at Real Madrid, but I don’t buy it. Football is a results-based business and he had some really good moments in charge of the club. They might have gotten tired of his antics towards the end of his run, but a couple of years away has a way of making such memories fade rather quickly.

The real question regarding his fit with Madrid is whether or not Mourinho plays with enough style to satisfy all of the stakeholders at the club. Real Madrid fans aren’t going to be OK with a team like Mourinho had at Chelsea last season. There is no Spanish football translation for the English phrase, “parking the bus.”

Still, it might be wise for Madrid to focus more on wins than flair for a while. Their preoccupation with style over substance has only allowed the gap to grow between themselves and rival Barcelona. It might take a true pragmatist like Mourinho to re-calibrate the squad enough to have them leapfrog Messi’s men.

Jose Mourinho would be a fool not go back to Real Madrid if he ever gets the opportunity, the only question is whether their ownership will have him back.