Old Strategy Revived / Mourinho's Defensive Bastion Returns to Real Madrid

Real Madrid will travel to Rome after training in Valdebebas. Ahead of Tuesday's match in the Italian capital, Real Madrid is preparing with a routine bearing the stamp of José Mourinho.

According to "Verzeh Se", instead of training at the Olympic stadium, which is the usual routine of guest teams in the European Champions League, this team will train in Valdebbas and will fly at 15:00 to land in Italy at 17:15.

The habit of training at the venue has become almost a ritual in European football, but Jose Mourinho was the first to break the routine at Real Madrid. In the first period of his presence on the bench of Real Madrid, i.e. 2010-13 season, this Portuguese coach decided to prepare travel plans in the training camp; A decision that the media at the time attributed to his attempt to preserve the game plan and protect tactical details from prying eyes.

Of course, 63-year-old Jose Mourinho himself has not always adhered to this belief. Last season, he trained at the opponent's stadium when he coached Benfica on trips to play against Real Madrid and Chelsea. It was the same situation that the Portuguese coach stepped on the renovated grass of the Bernabeu after 13 years, although he could not lead his team in the next day's game due to suspension. However, on Benfica's other European trips, he trained at the Sichal training camp, sticking to the philosophy he has now re-implemented in Madrid.

This method was forgotten after Jose Mourinho. Both Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti were fans of the classic routine of training at the opponent's stadium the day before the match. There was a change of procedure last season with Xabi Alonso reviving Mourinho's approach before the trip to Anfield and continuing it on other trips as well. He ordered the training to be done at 11 in the morning in Waldabbas and to travel to Liverpool in the evening; where the team convoy went straight to the hotel and only the head coach and one player went to Anfield for a press conference.

However, this experience did not take root. Alvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi on the bench, abandoned this philosophy again and returned Real Madrid to the traditional routine of training in the opponent's field; As seen in the first European game away from home at Daluj Stadium. Now with the return of Jose Mourinho to the White House, this shelter has returned to its roots, and everything shows that this will not be a random event. It is expected that this routine will become a rule in all European trips during the rest of the season.