Why Florentino Perez is right to consider bringing Jose Mourinho back to Real Madrid

[p]The Special One enjoyed a tumultuous period at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013, and Senor Perez clearly feels that the 63-year-old has the personality to be able to get the best out of the current squad.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/real-madrid/W8mj7MDD/"]Real Madrid[/a] have been poor this season[/h2][p]A squad that has seriously underperformed over the last two seasons, winning only the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in that time.[/p][p]Despite adding [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a] to a squad chock full of superstar players, Los Blancos have fallen behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/barcelona/SKbpVP5K/"]Barcelona[/a] domestically and the rest of Europe in the Champions League.[/p][image alt="Real Madrid's current position in LaLiga" id="be5711c1-cb37-4e1d-baaf-f4a65095c4d0" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="4dca4903-1757-4c57-b307-b9ff51653af8" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]Indeed, it was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vinicius-junior/CbwQ4Mws/"]Mourinho[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/benfica/zBkyuyRI/"]Benfica[/a] who knocked Real out of the automatic qualification places in the UCL this season, thanks to a last-gasp goal from goalkeeper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/trubin-anatolii/QqMFk0jg/"]Anatoliy Trubin[/a].[/p][p]That goal, and the celebrations that followed, were sheer football poetry, and that's a narrative that Mourinho thrives on.[/p][h2]Invincible Benfica[/h2][p]Lest we forget that, away from the headline-grabbing antics, he's still a football manager of the highest calibre, and is only a few games away from leading Benfica to an invincible, unbeaten Portuguese league season.[/p][p]No one should be in the least bit surprised, either.[/p][embed guid="89a1af86-5bf3-43c0-be8f-615066ccb061" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2046213065356525766" social-type="twitter" /][p]His expertise and longevity have seen to it that he's only behind Arsene Wenger (828 matches) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/guardiola-pep/hxNijWrJ/"]Pep Guardiola[/a] (375) as a non-British manager with the most matches managed (363) in the Premier League.[/p][p]Only Sir [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ferguson-alex/OrMbEZNO/"]Alex Ferguson[/a]'s 273 games managed in European competition and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ancelotti-carlo/nZQG5IgJ/"]Carlo Ancelotti[/a]'s 267 are more than Mourinho's 261.[/p][h2]Highest win percentage of Real managers with 100+ games[/h2][p]From a Real Madrid perspective, too, among those managers who have led the club in at least 100 matches, he has the highest win percentage of 71.91%.[/p][p]Of the 178 matches that he took charge of for Los Blancos, 128 were won, 28 were drawn, and only 22 were lost.[/p][embed guid="d8619c70-594b-4540-be17-9ce59341978f" url="https://x.com/OptaJose/status/1998679324195524771" social-type="twitter" /][p]Although Ancelotti was in charge for more games, he was only able to record a 70.82% win percentage, and, if the number of matches isn't taken into account, then only Manuel Pellegrini with 36 wins in 48 matches as Real Madrid manager has a higher win percentage (75%).[/p][h2]Highest scoring Real side of the 21st century[/h2][p]The other misconception about Mourinho is that he's overly defensive, and many times his teams have been accused of 'parking the bus.'[/p][p]His 2011/12 team was the highest-scoring Real side of the 21st century, averaging three goals per game. No other Los Blancos team in the last 25 years has reached that level of scoring.[/p][p]During his career, Mourinho has faced both Barcelona and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Liverpool[/a] 27 times, though the teams that he has been most successful against are [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/west-ham/Cxq57r8g/"]West Ham[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/everton/KluSTr9s/"]Everton[/a], who his sides have beaten on 11 separate occasions.[/p][embed guid="91cda404-c678-4c50-8e50-2818d7724da9" url="https://x.com/optajose/status/1002269912314892289" social-type="twitter" /][p]Pep Guardiola and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/klopp-jurgen/x6CvOHH9/"]Jurgen Klopp[/a] remain Mourinho’s nemeses.  Among managers that he has faced at least 10 times, the Portuguese has his lowest win percentage and highest loss percentage against the pair.[/p][embed guid="2873e6ae-e7fc-4a6a-92cd-10bba1776e84" url="https://x.com/OptaJoe/status/1230252273500069889?app=true" social-type="twitter" /][p]In 24 matches against Pep, Mourinho has recorded just six wins (25%), seven draws (29.17%), and has been on the receiving end of 11 losses (45.83%).[/p][p]Klopp's record against him is even better, given that in the 13 matches played, the German has beaten Mourinho on seven occasions (53.85%), has drawn four games (30.77%), and has lost against him just twice (15.38%). [/p][h2]Not many who could control Real's dressing room[/h2][p]There aren't a plethora of other candidates who could command the respect in the dressing room that Mourinho would, and the aura that the Portuguese evidently possesses should be enough to keep any dissenting voices - both from the board and the playing staff - in check.[/p][p]Given that the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Cristiano Ronaldo[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/benzema-karim/tpV0VX0S/"]Karim Benzema[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kaka/ttgWCJgL/"]Kaka[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ramos-sergio/db8mbBaO/"]Sergio Ramos[/a] and others were under his tutelage, he is well used to dealing with big personalities.[/p][p]Even current Real manager [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arbeloa-alvaro/CO9bjrLo/"]Alvaro Arbeloa[/a] and previous incumbent [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alonso-xabi/hAcTWKKN/"]Xabi Alonso[/a] were part of Mourinho's first squad when he arrived at the Spanish giants 16 years ago.[/p][embed guid="2055b0e8-8bec-4152-a6aa-67f356e15abd" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2049103847449141315" social-type="twitter" /][p]For a club with such a storied history and a particular way of working, only the very best can survive in the hot seat.[/p][p]If Mourinho can be persuaded to return, it won't represent a last throw of the dice by the club, even if one could take the view that they are harking after past glories rather than looking to a different future under managers who could be available after the World Cup such as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pochettino-mauricio/zuJM7XDg/"]Mauricio Pochettino[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/deschamps-didier/M9jPX2nf/"]Didier Deschamps[/a].[/p][p]Ultimately, what Florentino Perez wants, he usually gets, so it could be about to get very interesting in LaLiga and beyond...[/p][image alt="Jason Pettigrove" id="c85adc9a-d6ad-4940-a36a-31039c4ca8d3" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="1fcacf1a-62a4-4e42-81ca-a824567cf708" original-width="1200" original-height="380" /]