Fabio Capello highlights Mourinho’s impact as Real Madrid make strong start

Fabio Capello says Jose Mourinho has transformed Real Madrid’s performances after the Spanish club opened the season with two convincing victories.

The former Real Madrid manager believes Mourinho has already addressed the problems that affected the team last season, following wins over Espanyol and Real Sociedad.

Real Madrid began their La Liga campaign with a 2-1 away victory against Espanyol before producing an even more emphatic result at home, beating Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Capello’s assessment was published by Defensa Central, which reported comments he made for Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“If we compare Real Madrid with last season, it seems to me that Jose Mourinho has already solved the problems,” said Capello.

The Italian believes the most significant improvement has been the way Real Madrid’s players are now functioning collectively. He said that greater unity had allowed the individual quality of the squad to become more influential.

“The Real Madrid players have started to play as a team, and therefore the enormous quality possessed by Vinicius, Mbappe, Bellingham and their team-mates has begun to show,” he added.

Capello also believes Mourinho’s work could have major consequences in Europe if the Portuguese manager can maintain his authority over the squad.

“If Mourinho maintains control, Real Madrid will be the team to beat in the Champions League,” said Capello.

Mourinho did not want to impose excessive strictness on the players from the outset of pre-season. Instead, he began by asking for a basic level of commitment and discipline, with the approach intended to establish the standards required within the group.

The next challenge, according to Capello’s analysis, will be ensuring that every player continues to meet those standards over the course of the campaign. Maintaining the same level of effort and consistency will be crucial if Real Madrid are to turn their early results into sustained success.

Should Mourinho succeed in doing so, Capello believes Real Madrid will be capable of competing for the Champions League, La Liga and any other available trophy.

The opening victories over Espanyol and Real Sociedad have provided an early indication of the direction in which the team is moving, but Capello’s central point is that discipline and collective work must continue alongside the individual talent in the squad.

Real Madrid’s attacking threat includes Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, but Capello’s comments suggest that their impact will depend on the team retaining its organisation and work ethic under Mourinho.

The analysis was also discussed in the Kooora forums, where readers can debate the subject and other football news in greater depth.