Jose Mourinho's Trusted Lieutenant Offers View on his Return

This week, the world's worst kept secret was finally revealed. Jose Mourinho is returning to Real Madrid 13 years after he departed from his first spell. 

It is really hard to know what to expect from the 63-year old. He is a legendary manager, one of the most iconic of the modern era and of any era really, but he has not had a lot of success over the past decade. 

Questions remain over how he will fit at Los Blancos. Can he adapt to the modern player? Can the modern player adapt to him? Kylian Mbappe feels case in point. Will he accept a player who does not participate without the ball?

Well, one of the players most associated with Mourinho throughout his career, John Terry, has offered his view on the appointment and the fit. Speaking recently, as aggregated by MadridXtra, the former centre back said: "Jose Mourinho is at 100%. He's as good as ever. 

I don't know if he's active in training, but I don't think there's a better coach in the world in terms of meetings and analysis he does of opponents." Some high praise indeed.

Then, back to the Mbappe point, Terry had this to say: "People keep thinking 'Mbappe is going to have problems with Mourinho', but they can get along from day one, find something that pushes them even further. There are big names, and these coaches love dealing with big names." 

Then, the former England captain spoke about Mourinho's training sessions, compared to on a match day: "I don't think Jose Mourinho's presence on the field and training is the same. Believe me, and I've seen it several, on Thursdays, Fridays, two days before the match, and on the day itself, you don't want to be on his blacklist." 

Some interesting comments. Although there are a number players who feel synonymous with Mourinho - the likes of Michael Essien, Nemanja Matic, Romelu Lukaku, Frank Lampard, and so on and so forth. However, Terry is perhaps number one in that regard. So, it doesn't feel like there is anyone more qualified to give their take on the gaffer. 

Now, you may think, by the same token, he is not going to criticise Mourinho. He was always going to be positive. But he has actually broken down his reasoning. He hasn't just said "Ah look well I love him, he'll definitely work out because he's the best", he has actually given insight to how he is in training. Insight in to how he and Mbappe can work together, etc. 

So, it will certainly be interesting to see how that dynamic works. It will be interesting to see which players he likes, and perhaps which players he does not like quite so much. An interesting time ahead for Real Madrid, that is for sure.