José Mourinho Returns to Real Madrid: Early Start in Valdebebas

José Mourinho doesn’t officially clock in until Monday. He hasn’t waited.

Days before the squad is due back from their holidays, the Portuguese coach has already stepped into Real Madrid City, posting an image of his first day back as the club’s manager. No long speeches, no grand manifesto. Just a sharp, familiar rallying cry: “Let’s go!!”

It is the first visible act of his second era in Madrid. The message is simple, but loaded. A coach who thrives on confrontation and challenge walks back into a club where expectations never dipped in his absence.

Early start in Valdebebas

The real noise begins on Monday, July 13. That is when Valdebebas will start to fill again, initially without the World Cup contingent. The first wave will be those who stayed away from the tournament, a mixed group of youth, new faces and established names returning quietly while the global stars rest.

Among those expected are Dean Huijsen, Franco Mastantuono and Trent Alexander-Arnold, all due to report for medical examinations. For some, it will be an introduction to Mourinho’s methods. For others, an immediate audition.

The timing matters. An early look at players outside the World Cup bubble gives Mourinho a rare window: smaller groups, more direct contact, a chance to assess personalities as much as positions. The work starts before the full dressing room is even assembled.

Khedira on the bench, not the pitch

Behind the scenes, Mourinho has moved quickly to lock in the staff who will shape this project from the touchline.

Joao Tralhao and Pedro Machado will join him as assistant coaches, trusted lieutenants in the day‑to‑day grind. The standout name, though, is Sami Khedira. Once a key figure in Mourinho’s first spell at the club, the former midfielder now returns in a very different role: assistant coach, not anchor man.

It is a symbolic appointment as much as a tactical one. Khedira knows the club, knows the pressure, and knows the man in charge. He has lived the demands Mourinho places on his players. Now he helps enforce them.

The structure around the squad is rounded out by Antonio Días as fitness coach, charged with delivering the physical edge Mourinho’s teams so often rely on, and Nuno Santos as goalkeeping coach, a specialist role that can quietly define tight seasons.

The holidays are not yet over. The World Cup stars are still scattered across the globe. But Mourinho is already on the training pitches of Valdebebas, staff in place, first players on the way, and a simple message hanging over everything.

Let’s go – again.