Mourinho calls for accountability as he begins second Real Madrid rebuild

Jose Mourinho has begun imposing his methods at Real Madrid after more than a month at Valdebebas, with discipline, hard work and personal responsibility at the centre of his attempt to reshape the club’s dressing room.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Mourinho has held meetings with the team’s leaders and spoken individually to most of the players who have entered his office. The Portuguese manager is using the opening weeks of his return to establish what he believes must become a new culture if Real Madrid are to meet their objectives this season.

Marca believes the timing of a Netflix documentary about Mourinho is significant because it offers an insight into his personality and his approach to managing a dressing room. The same mentality, the newspaper says, is now being put into practice at Real Madrid.

The documentary revisits Mourinho’s previous spell at the club, including his relationship with then-captain Iker Casillas.

Mourinho recalls that, during his first conversations with Casillas, some of the requests made to him concerned holidays, training times and arrangements at training camps.

“In a short time I realised they were spoilt,” Mourinho says in the documentary.

Marca presents that episode as an example of one of the principles Mourinho wants to reinforce during his current tenure: players must understand the limits of their privileges, while the relationship between manager and squad must be based on responsibility from both sides.

The report says Mourinho is also trying to prevent a repeat of the internal problems that emerged during the previous season. He wants to remove habits that have become established within the club over a number of years and replace them with clearly defined expectations.

His approach is to establish the rules immediately, so every player understands what the coaching staff expect from them and which standards must be followed both on and off the pitch.

One of the clearest signs of Mourinho’s new routine at Valdebebas is his determination to arrive at the training centre before everyone else.

For Mourinho, that early arrival is more than a public demonstration of discipline. It gives him the opportunity to monitor small details, including which players are among the first to arrive, who is late and whether anyone appears tired or lacking concentration.

Marca says the manager begins assessing the players from the moment they reach the training centre. Before the session starts, he watches their state of mind, the way they arrive and how they approach the day’s work. In his view, such seemingly minor details can later influence the atmosphere inside the dressing room.

Once the players move on to the pitch, Mourinho adopts the demanding style for which he is known. He focuses closely on every exercise and movement, intervening whenever he believes a detail needs correcting.

Real Madrid’s players have already started to become familiar with that side of their manager during the first weeks of his work.

Mourinho’s official public appearance reinforced the approach he had already begun to implement at Valdebebas. At a special ceremony attended by Florentino Perez, he described his return to Real Madrid as a “mission” and stressed the importance of recovering a culture built on hard work, responsibility and ambition.

“I am one of you, and I have always been,” Mourinho told the Real Madrid players in a direct message.

According to Marca, the message inside Valdebebas is clear. Mourinho wants to create a different dressing room, one based not on privileges or personal favours but on complete commitment to the team’s rules.

After only a month in charge, the Portuguese manager has begun establishing a philosophy centred on work, respect and responsibility, while making clear that there will be no room for pampering.