After the defeat and elimination against Arsenal, Carlo Ancelotti has come out of it seriously shaken.
It’s been building since almost the start of the season — even in previous seasons, where Real Madrid didn’t look particularly convincing but still managed to win. That happened throughout Ancelotti’s years in charge, especially during the Champions League comebacks, where the opponents were often the better side, but somehow, Real Madrid always found a way to win.
But it seems that “luck” has run out, and the deeper issues are now more visible. There’s also a sense of a changing era in Madrid — Benzema and Kroos are no longer here, and Modrić has clearly declined in both performance and influence (yesterday you could barely tell he was on the pitch). Injuries have taken a toll too — Alaba, Militão, Carvajal, etc. The team only has a Plan A, and no Plan B or C. When Plan A fails, there’s no response from the bench — neither in terms of players (just look at how little Güler and Endrick have played in the league or Champions League), nor tactically. Yesterday, even being 0-1 down and needing four goals, the formation didn’t change. The squad is exhausted, yet Ancelotti keeps playing the same players every match, while other teams rotate.
As a result, many names are now being mentioned as possible replacements. Even Ancelotti himself cast doubt on his future during the press conference. When asked if, looking back at how the tie played out, he would have done anything differently, his answer — “I would’ve done everything the same” — reveals a deeper issue: a coach with many strengths, but also some big weaknesses. Chief among them? Relying entirely on one single plan. Yes, it’s a good one — but when it doesn’t work, there’s nothing else.
Is a Mourinho return impossible?
One name that many Madridistas have always loved to bring up since he left is José Mourinho, The Special One. His legendary rivalry with Guardiola remains one of the most iconic moments in Real Madrid history. Even though he didn’t win the Champions League with Madrid, the truth is he did achieve what he was brought in for: to take down Pep Guardiola’s super Barcelona. The best Barcelona team in history — the one that won the sextuple — and at the time, Madrid went into every Clásico expecting to lose.
It started rough, but Mourinho eventually figured out how to beat Barcelona, winning the Copa del Rey and then the following season, the 100-point La Liga title. He had some bad luck in the Champions League — first against Barcelona, with an unjust red card for Pepe after a dive from Alves (he didn’t even touch him…), and later in a heartbreaking penalty shootout against Bayern Munich (with misses from Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, and Sergio Ramos skying his shot), which kept Mourinho from his Champions League trophy. His last game, losing the Copa del Rey final against Atlético Madrid at the Bernabéu, ended with him being sent off and a falling-out with Casillas and some other players — tarnishing his legacy and prompting his exit from the club.
But even after he left, Florentino Pérez has always held a soft spot for Mourinho. Over the years, there were rumors of a possible return, but the success of Ancelotti and later Zidane — especially in the Champions League — meant it never happened. Meanwhile, Mourinho’s career declined after his stints at Manchester United, Roma, and now Fenerbahçe.
Still, we shouldn’t forget that Ancelotti himself, in his second spell, came to Madrid after stints at Napoli and Everton — he wasn’t on anyone’s radar and hadn’t done anything remarkable there either. Yet he returned and succeeded. Could the same happen with Mourinho? A kind of “The Last Dance” in the final years of Florentino Pérez’s presidency (this will likely be his last term — he’s 78 now and would be 82 at the next elections).