Mourinho urged to build Real Madrid around Mbappe and Vinicius

Real Madrid must embrace a direct, high-intensity style built around the pace of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior if Jose Mourinho’s project is to succeed, according to former club player Alvaro Benito.

The Spanish side are still searching for their identity under Mourinho and, with the first quarter of the season approaching, have continued to repeat the same problems seen over the previous two campaigns.

Speaking on Cadena Ser, Benito said Real Madrid faced a decisive choice between two contrasting methods of controlling matches. He believes the squad’s individual qualities make one option far more realistic than the other.

“This year, the problems from previous seasons are appearing again,” Benito said on the El Larguero programme.

“If you analyse in depth the type of players in Real Madrid’s expected starting XI, even with Bernardo Silva instead of Aurelien Tchouameni or Federico Valverde, you discover two completely different ways of controlling a match.”

Benito described the first approach as sustained possession, minimising turnovers and forcing opponents to defend close to their own penalty area.

The alternative, he said, would be to dominate through reaction rather than prolonged control of the ball.

“That means playing in advanced areas rather than deep ones, reducing the space, constantly winning the ball back and heavily disrupting the opponent’s progress,” he explained.

For Benito, Real Madrid’s current squad points clearly towards the second method.

“With these fast players, such as Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Yan Diomande, you can cause a great deal of damage to the opposition, so I believe you have to choose this path,” he said.

Mourinho has acknowledged in press conferences that he wants his team to enjoy periods of possession. However, Benito believes attempting to dominate games in the same manner as Barcelona would be extremely difficult, even if Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler were selected together against elite opposition.

“He can try to control matches through possession, but it will be extremely complicated because of the characteristics of his players,” Benito said.

“Almost all of their best players like to run. This type of player prefers noisy matches and an environment full of challenges, and I think Mourinho is ideal for this style.”

Benito also praised the Portuguese manager, describing him as one of the leading coaches of the past three decades.

“I think Mourinho is an excellent manager,” he said. “He has become a global icon and one of the best coaches of the last 30 years, specifically because of his cohesive and highly attacking teams, which defend superbly, recover the ball and launch vertical attacks.”

Benito concluded that Real Madrid’s squad was not constructed for sustained possession, regardless of Mourinho’s stated preference.

“I have heard Mourinho say that he wants periods of possession, but I see it as very difficult,” he said. “Even with Bernardo and Arda Guler together against top-level teams, it would be very difficult for Real Madrid to control matches as Barcelona do, because they simply do not have a team built around possession.”