Real Madrid are gearing up for their season opener against Espanyol this coming weekend and all eyes will be on Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese manager was the heart of Real Madrid’s rebuilding project that saw the club bring in six new signings.
With the pre-season over and Mourinho having made his observations, a former Real Madrid player has given his two cents on what kind of playbook Mourinho should follow in order to be successful in his second stint at the club.
Alvaro Benito urges Mourinho to follow PSG
Jose Mourinho is ready for the season ahead. (Picture credit: X/@realmadrid)
In a recent interaction with SER, Benito has urged Mourinho to follow the playbook of PSG when it comes to building a team.
“Look at PSG, they’ve shattered all the myths of football. They’ve debunked the idea that you need a defensive midfielder,” he said (h/t Mundo Deportivo).
He went on to heap praise on the way PSG has dominated Europe by adopting a modern footballing approach.
“They have young Portuguese players, Fabian, Kvaratskhelia, Doue, Dembélé, two ultra-defensive full-backs who are constantly pushing forward.
“That team is a machine when it comes to defending and attacking. It dismantles any preconceived notion of what a team should be. Here, everyone has to push,” he added.
Benito, who featured in just 24 matches for Real Madrid in late 20th century, said it will be important for Los Blancos to set clear roles for players.
“Everyone needs to have a dynamic, to know who is responsible for widening the play, who is responsible for deep passing, for those passes to be agile and quick, and for the team to be well-positioned when building attacks.
“It shouldn’t be a ‘come on, let’s pass the ball around and see who comes up with something and who has talent’ approach. With that, you can’t compete with the best,” he said.
Benito on having a Plan A
Can Mourinho bring back the good old days? (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Benito went on the emphasise the importance of having a set plan and not deviating from it. He wants to see Real Madrid avoid the same mediocre path of last two years.
“If you stumble over the same stone three years in a row, if by matchday 10 you see a team that’s lazy without the ball, with a certain degree of anarchy, if you see that there’s no plan in building attacks and no defensive plan when it comes to organizing pressure at any point… it’s dead.
“I think that if you continue down the same path as the last two seasons, it’s very difficult,” he said.
Finally, Benito said Mourinho’s biggest challenge will be convincing people that Real Madrid can be competent once again.
“That’s Mourinho’s great job, convincing people of what it takes to be competitive nowadays. Real Madrid has a team that can compete for everything this season if they meet the demands Mourinho will place on the players,” he concluded.