Real Madrid fans have been ruminating impatiently for weeks. Now, at last, you have a date to hold on to: July 13. That day, at the facilities of Valdebebasthe whistle will sound that will mark the official beginning of the second era of José Mourinho at Real Madrid. Just over a month of waiting remains to see his team back on the move, preparing for a season that the club – and its fans – are looking forward to, but especially with great demands after two bittersweet years.
The coach himself has already transferred the date to the squad. The Portuguese arrived in Madrid yesterday, Monday, June 9, at noon, settling in at the Santo Mauro hotel. After a discreet entrance, at 8:30 p.m. he held his first meeting with José Ángel Sánchezgeneral director of the club, and Juni Calafatresponsible for scouting, in addition to his agent Jorge Mendes. The new project, in football and contractual terms, began to become more real than ever when it came to the table that same night, just when Benfica announced his departure. Starting today, Mourinho will settle in Valdebebas, where he will have several weeks to calmly design the architecture of his second stage.
Mourinho’s stellar appearance to confirm that Florentino Pérez had won
The market has already taken its first steps. Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries They are the first two confirmed additions, called to shore up a defense that over the last two seasons has shown obvious frailties. The offer of 150 million euros to bring a first-rate galactico—the great promise of the electoral campaign—did not prosper at the beginning, being Julián Álvarez the name chosen by Florentino Pérez and being rejected by Atlético.
The World Cup, which ends on July 19 in the United Stateslargely conditions planning. Ten first team players are called up by their national teams: Vinicius, Mbappé, Bellingham, Valverde, Courtois, Tchouaméni, Arda Güler, Brahim, Rüdiger —still pending official renewal— and Endrickwho returns from his loan and appears in the squad. You could join them Nico Pazwhose return to the club seemed to be intuited in one of Florentino’s presidential campaign videos.
Konaté’s vacillation with Madrid’s interest: “Mbappé calls me every two hours…”
Conditional preseason
All of them will enjoy between two and three weeks of vacation after participating in the tournament, so their return to work will inevitably be progressive. The bulk of the rest of the squad, however, already knows what to expect: July 13, no excuses.
The coincidence with the World Cup also forces us to rethink the structure of the preseason. He club has ruled out the international tourwhich in other summers took the team to tour the United States, a format that does not fit with the deadlines imposed by the calendar. Instead, several friendlies of preparationamong them the Teresa Herrera Trophy against Deportivo de La Coruñathey will be fine-tuning a team that must be ready for the first day of the League, scheduled for the weekend of August 15. The countdown, in any case, has already begun.
