SPANISH LA LIGA:JOSE MOURINHO has signed a contract extension to keep him and his staff at Real Madrid until 2016.
Mourinho’s previous deal was to expire at the end of 2014 and the new one reinforces his position at the club after a season of success and speculation. The club’s website announced the renewal in a single phrase, under the headline: “Best coach in the world extends contract with Real Madrid to 2016”.
Mourinho was already the world’s best-paid coach and the new deal is more about symbolism and authority than money. This is a public declaration of contentment and commitment. Despite some moments of doubt, Mourinho has the backing of the board, the president, Florentino Perez, and the director general, Jose Angel Sanchez. The coach has publicly praised both men, even when he has criticised other aspects of the club. He is also popular among Real Madrid supporters, especially younger fans.
He has enjoyed often vociferous support during his battles with the media.
The 49-year-old was brought to Real Madrid to end Barcelona’s stranglehold on domestic and European football. He finished his first season with a Copa del Rey success while Barcelona won a league and Champions League double; his second season ends with Madrid reclaiming the league title after a four-year wait and a second semi-final exit in Europe. Cristiano Ronaldo insisted yesterday that that there was a “change of cycle” in Spain.
Real’s announcement brings stability and identity to a club that lacked it and strengthens Mourinho’s hand. He has demanded greater responsibility and control at all levels. Of the nine men who preceded him as coach, only one made it into a second year whereas Mourinho will now embark on his third at the club.
For Perez in particular, this is an important turnaround. The Madrid president is in his second stint at the club and had endured five consecutive seasons, spread across two mandates, without winning the league.
Until Mourinho’s arrival, not one of the coaches he employed had won a major trophy. For the first time, Perez has been persuaded to hand power to his coach, a decision that had already been enshrined in Mourinho’s status as manager.
There have been significant moments of tension this season in which it had appeared that Mourinho was preparing for a departure. The season began with his clash with the Barcelona number two Tito Vilanova – the man who will be in sole charge at the Catalan club next season.
At the end of the Spanish Super Cup, Mourinho poked Vilanova in the eye during a melee on the touchline. Mourinho refused to apologise for that episode.
Strategic leaks from his camp in the new year suggested that he wanted to leave Spain and return to the Premier League. There had been some tension with Spanish players and Mourinho’s relationship with the media had deteriorated, so much so that at the end of the season he stopped appearing at press conferences, sending his assistant Aitor Karanka out in his place.
The leaks in the new year were followed by a much-reported trip to London. Those events can be reinterpreted now as a negotiating tool in conversations with Madrid and as part of a process in which his camp drew out possible interest from English clubs. There were discussions with Chelsea.
Ultimately, though, Mourinho was not convinced by the range of options open to him. He was, by contrast, increasingly convinced by the change in direction at Real Madrid as he is granted greater authority than any of his predecessors. Madrid, he has noted, are moving in the right direction.
They will move forward with Mourinho.
Guardian Service
