Mourinho Faces Barcelona in His First Clasico Return

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is set to reignite one of football's fiercest rivalries on Sunday. He will lead his team in his first Clasico since coming back to the club. Barcelona, the current leaders of La Liga, are waiting for him at Camp Nou.

Mourinho's first time at Madrid revolved around his struggle to break Barcelona's hold under Pep Guardiola. The rivalry reached a low point during those years.

He managed to end Barcelona's dominance by leading Real Madrid to the Spanish title in 2012. This was the highlight of his time at the club from 2010 to 2013.

During his first Clasico run, the matches became intense. Some would say the conflict was not always healthy, as Mourinho and his staff often clashed with Barcelona's team both on the pitch and in the media.

Mourinho worked as an assistant at Barcelona under Bobby Robson and Louis van Gaal in the 1990s. But he was not chosen to take over when Guardiola replaced Frank Rijkaard in 2008.

His battles with Guardiola, Lionel Messi, and even Madrid legends like Iker Casillas sometimes overshadowed his success on the field. One of the most notorious incidents was when Mourinho poked Barcelona's assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye in August 2011.

Earlier that same year, Madrid and Barcelona faced off four times in just 18 days. This showed how heated the rivalry was.

The first match in La Liga ended in a 1-1 draw, which helped Barcelona stay ahead in the title race. In the second match, Madrid defeated Barcelona to win the Copa del Rey, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winner in extra time.

Barcelona then won a Champions League semi-final against Madrid. They took the first leg 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid defender Pepe getting sent off. Mourinho called that match a “scandal.”

In the second leg, Barcelona drew 1-1 with Madrid to reach the final, which they won. During this time, Guardiola said he could not compete with the “boss” Mourinho in press conferences.

Now in his second stint at Madrid, Mourinho is starting strong. After losing a derby, he showed print-outs of incidents to argue that Atletico Madrid should have received two red cards. He also skipped a press conference after Vinicius Junior was sent off against Villarreal.

Some believe Mourinho uses these tactics to deflect attention from his team's poor performances. A win in the Clasico could help him focus more on football. Stopping Hansi Flick's Barcelona, who are back-to-back Spanish champions, is one of the main reasons he was brought back by president Florentino Perez.

Flick’s Barcelona has won six out of seven Clasicos since he arrived. They have scored 22 goals while conceding only 11.

Mourinho said it is hard for his team to reach the level he wants after such a short time. "I’ve been here for over a hundred days. Obviously, we are not where I want, but there are things we are doing better today than before,” he said.

Madrid has won their last four games in La Liga and the Champions League. After sharing playtime earlier in the season, some player preferences are appearing.

Mourinho initially did not see midfielder Federico Valverde as a right-back, but he has used him in that position in the last two matches. He played ahead of Denzel Dumfries and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“We created a lot on that side, and Fede had a fantastic match,” Mourinho said after beating Leipzig.

In Valverde's midfield position, Mourinho used Arda Guler against Sevilla and then Bernardo Silva against Leipzig. This has helped Madrid play better and keep more possession.

But the Clasico will be a different challenge. Mourinho, who previously used defender Pepe in midfield against Barcelona, might go back to that strategy to disrupt Barcelona's attacking style.