Just How Will Jose Cope At Real Madrid?

"This looks great, guys. One last thing: can you show me the page detailing my get-out clause?"

Now that the news has settled and his pensive, almost bewildered look at the unveiling has been captured and locked-in for all eternity, we wonder about the business and the work that actually lie ahead for The Special One.

To date, Jose Mourinho has enjoyed managerial gigs that allow him plenty of room to sculpt and mold as needed, with one major exception.

Chelsea had a soccer-mad oligarch in power, a man who wanted Mourinho’s expertise yet still felt confident enough in his own sporting IQ to make some decisions on his own. The clash of egos eventually prompted a falling-out and Mourinho’s hasty departure, and we can’t help but wonder if a similar scenario won’t play out in Madrid.

The main thing to understand about Real club president Florentino Perez is that he is the man who birthed the first Galacticos era. It was Perez who ushered in Big Spending 1.0 upon being elected in 2000. His promise of signing Luis Figo (then icon at the Nou Camp) trumped the two European Cups won by his predecessor in 1998 and 2000, and with it came absurd spending. Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Michael Owen, Robinho were all tentpole signings for the capital’s club, and with them, Perez tried desperately to build an empire. European success was always elusive for the stars, and he quit in 2006, deciding that the team needed a fresh direction.

His tenure also showed us his philosophy in soccer: stars win games. Forget defensive strength or sound organization; we need more players with flair, verve, and other examples of je ne sais quoi. Ball skill, speed, trickery, and aesthetics: those were the ideals firmly championed by the man who first ran Fernando Redondo out of town, then, not long after, the true anchor of the team, Claude Makelele. The defensive midfielder’s crime may have been as complex as a contract negotiation to ensure that he was not underpaid; on the surface, it showed Perez’s disinterest for defensive-minded players. If you’re not scoring goals and dazzling on the ball, you’re surplus to requirements.

Makelele’s absense left a gaping hole in the Real lineup that no-one could adequately fill; it’s no coincidence that from the time of his exit in 2002 to Perez’ own departure in 2006, the club didn’t win a thing. (Perez also ran out current Spanish NT boss Vicente Del Bosque around the same time, as he was becoming too powerful with the players for Perez’ liking)

And so, Real rebuilt until Perez came along again in 2009, immediately resuming his misguided Galacticos policy; Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, all purchased with a view to upping Real’s star quotient to absurd new heights in the quest for trophies. And their haul in 2009/10? Nada again.

Cue the signing of Jose Mourinho, a man of equally firm will, to right the ship. To make this loose arrangement of branded soccer gods into a winning collective. To prove to all that Perez and his philosophy works… though, hang on a second. Mourinho is the anti-Perez when it comes to his own personal tactics.

Internazionale won the treble with a maximum of effort and a comparative minimum of star power. The midfield was toiled and battered by no-nonsense players like Esteban Cambiasso (if Argentina can’t win in 2010, you’ll know what they’re lacking) and ageless utility man Javier Zanetti. Equally unglamorous players festoon the starting XI; Samuel and Lucio snap ankles while the quiet flair of Diego Milito is not merely present in the attacking third, but all across the pitch. Anchored by Sneijder in forward-midfield, the team won without ego thanks to Mourinho.

If you look at it in terms of ego, it could be argued that the only charismatic force allowed at the club came from Jose himself, but even Samuel Eto’o, a man run out of Barcelona due to character issues, thrived without complaint in wide positions and even as a wide-midfielder in the Champions League final.

So how will this mesh with Perez? The last decade of Real Madrid’s history, when viewed alongside that of Mourinho, suggest that it will be an unmitigated disaster. Perez is a club president who knows what he wants, and as he’s shown in the past, he’s totally willing to shove aside a brand name in pursuit of his own goals and desires.

Should Mourinho wish to buy unheralded, unglamorous players to fill out a talented starting lineup, will he be given the opportunity? Will Perez demand success with the deities provided, so desperate as he is to find success with a policy that never truly worked in the first place?

I give this relationship 18 months at best. While Mourinho’s itinerant nature is well-documented, perhaps more so than his desire to return to England, the ideological clash with Perez is set to be a battle that will find no compromise. If his wandering ways don’t nudge him out the door, his boss certainly will. Perez has fought before and won; no reason to think he wouldn’t again, despite having the blind fortune of convincing the world’s greatest current manager to come and fix his directionless club.