Barcelona legend backs Mourinho to strengthen Real Madrid

Despite having one of the strongest teams in Europe, Real Madrid have been on the short end of the stick in almost all of the El Clasicos they have played since Hansi Flick’s arrival on the FC Barcelona bench.

The Merengues have appointed Jose Mourinho to put things right, and the Portuguese coach will once again be looking to put an end to the domestic dominance of the Blaugrana team, just as he did when he joined Real Madrid for his first stint.

These aspects are already generating memories of that period when Real Madrid and Barcelona fought tooth and nail for domestic glory and were two of the very top sides in Europe. In fact, as MARCA has noted, one of the biggest legends of the Catalan club, Carles Puyol, also recalled that time while talking about the return of Mourinho to the Merengue club.

The Spanish defender talked to several media outlets in a video conference, and had no qualms about recognizing the Portuguese tactician as a great coach and revealed how his association with him goes back a long way:

“We’re talking about a great coach (Mourinho). I met him at Barcelona when I was in the academy and moved up to the first team. We could already see that he knew a lot about football. Then he built a good CV and eventually arrived at Madrid. We were at a very strong point then; I remember a great rivalry.”

The former Spanish defender was also clear that Mourinho’s arrival will make Real Madrid stronger:

“In those years, besides it being Guardiola and Mourinho, it was Messi and Cristiano; they were two great teams. We’ll see how it goes for him. I still think Barcelona have a very good team and will be able to have a good season. With Mourinho, they can be stronger.”

Although he remains one of the most easily recognizable managers in Europe, Jose Mourinho has been far from his best for more than a decade now. His return to Real Madrid is a very good opportunity for him to once again show everyone his best managerial abilities, and hopefully, he will be able to turn around the fortunes of the Merengue team once again.