Real Madrid: Mourinho's 20-Man Squad Challenge

Jose Mourinho is making efforts to reduce the size of Real Madrid's squad, just 10 days before the team's season opener at Espanyol, following his usual approach of having a lean squad.

The Portuguese coach is well-known in football for his philosophy of building a very compact core squad, usually maintaining between 23 and 25 players per season. This includes 20 outfield players competing for positions and 3 goalkeepers. Depending on the number of competitions entered, such as European cups, this number may fluctuate slightly to around 25 players to cope with a packed schedule.

Throughout his managerial career, Mourinho's teams have rarely seen extensive rotation. He typically relies on a fixed core of about 15 key players for most major competitions, with the rest being tactical substitutes and young players promoted as reserves.

Currently, the Madrid-based team has too many players for the Special One's requirements, with 26 players, and he is trying to reduce this number to 20, along with three other key players who are long-term injured: Militao, Rodrygo, and Mendy.

Some uncertain names like Asencio, Camavinga, and the French left-back himself, along with young talent Pitarch, have pushed this number to 26. The 63-year-old coach's plan is to have 2 to 3 players competing for each position. But currently, the squad has surplus personnel at center-back, left-back, right winger, and central midfield.

Among these, the board of the Royal club is trying to handle the cases of Asencio, Mendy, and Camavinga, who have expressed their desire to stay and compete for playing time, but their personal issues are a major obstacle.

Having players who rarely get playing time and have few opportunities to play will create a tense training atmosphere, which the Portuguese strategist very much wants to avoid. The lean personnel organization model is the reason why Mourinho's teams always have great resilience and high organization.

When a group of players play together continuously, they understand each other perfectly. The combination moves, cover, and tactical movements become instinctive, making Mourinho's defensive system extremely tight. He can also manage the dressing room better, reduce star player dissatisfaction, maintain a winning rhythm, keep stability, and prevent the system from being disrupted or suddenly dropping in quality as when replaced by substitutes.

Most of the players he has used the most since the start of his managerial career are center-backs and defensive midfielders. Among them, notable names include Carvalho, Terry, Matic, Lampard, and Paulo Ferreira.

This shows that Mourinho's football philosophy emphasizes defense, discipline, and solidity. The team always displays strength and high competitiveness in every tournament, but at the same time, it also creates noticeable weaknesses: the tension and pressure are enormous.

The increased number of matches in recent seasons is a challenge for the compact squad that the 63-year-old coach desires. Players are prone to overload, injuries, and tactical elements can also be easily studied and countered.