It is looking increasingly likely that José Mourinho will be Real Madrid’s manager next season, 13 years on from his last stint at the Bernabéu. His first official match in charge of Los Blancos came against Michael Laudrup’s RCD Mallorca on August 29, 2010 — a goalless draw.
Mourinho kicked off his three-year tenure with the following XI: Iker Casillas; Álvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Ricardo Carvalho, Marcelo; Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra; Ángel Di María, Sergio Canales, Cristiano Ronaldo; and Gonzalo
Higuaín.
Carvalho, Di María, and Canales all made their Real Madrid debuts that day, as did Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil off the bench. Most of this team have since retired from professional football, with only Di María and Ronaldo still active, plying their trade in Argentina and Saudi Arabia respectively.
Perhaps the most striking detail about this starting XI is that the two Real Madrid managers immediately preceding Mourinho’s potential second stint — Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa — were both on the pitch that day, playing under him in his very first official game in charge of the club.
