Jose Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid’s dugout faces its first major examination on Tuesday when the record 15-time European champions begin their campaign against Inter at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The fixture reunites Mourinho with the club he left Inter to join in 2010, shortly after delivering the Italian side’s greatest season. Sixteen years ago, the Portuguese coach guided Inter to an historic treble, winning Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League.
Inter completed the achievement by beating Bayern 2-0 in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu, claiming the European Cup for the first time since 1965 and becoming the first Italian club to win all three major trophies in one season.
Mourinho said the final was likely to be his last match in charge of Inter. His move to Real Madrid was confirmed about a week later.
Now beginning a second spell in the Spanish capital, Mourinho is tasked with reviving Real Madrid’s fortunes in Europe after two seasons without a major trophy. His first competitive defeat of the new era came on Friday, when Real Madrid lost 1-0 at Real Betis after opening the campaign with three wins.
Neither Mourinho nor Inter have been able to match the European success they enjoyed together since that night in Madrid.
Inter have reached the Champions League final twice more, losing to Manchester City in 2023 before suffering a heavy defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 final. Mourinho, meanwhile, could not take Real Madrid beyond the semi-finals during his first tenure, which ended in 2013.
The 63-year-old has since spent much of his career in Europe’s secondary competitions. He led Manchester United to the Europa League title in 2017 and won the Conference League with Roma in 2022.
Mourinho was brought back by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez this summer after the club had gone two seasons without a major honour. His central objective is to restore the club to the top of European football.
Only five coaches have won the Champions League more often than Mourinho. He first lifted the trophy with Porto in 2004, a triumph that helped launch his career at Chelsea and among Europe’s biggest clubs.
“My attraction to Real Madrid is due to its history, its frustrations in recent years and its expectations to win,” he said in 2010. Those motivations remain relevant after a period in which Real Madrid’s dominance has begun to fade.
During Mourinho’s first spell, he helped challenge Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona for control of Spanish football. However, he was unable to guide Real Madrid to a 10th European Cup.
That milestone was achieved by his successor Carlo Ancelotti, who has won the trophy three times across two spells with the club. Zinedine Zidane also delivered three successive Champions League triumphs, contributing to Real Madrid’s haul of six titles in an extraordinary 10-year period.
Perez has credited Mourinho with laying the groundwork for those successes.
“I’m glad my work had some positive impact, but the titles belong to Carlo, Zidane, the players, and the fans,” Mourinho said.
Real Madrid’s hold over the competition has weakened over the past two seasons. Arsenal eliminated them in the quarter-finals in 2025, while Bayern Munich knocked them out in the last 16 last season.
Mourinho must now demonstrate that both he and Real Madrid remain capable of competing at the highest level in Europe. A further challenge will be stopping Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain from retaining the trophy for a third consecutive year.
“Finishing without trophies at Real Madrid is not a successful season,” Mourinho said in August.
The visit of Inter provides an immediate test. They are the team Mourinho last led to the summit of European football, and their return to the Santiago Bernabeu will offer an early indication of whether he can begin restoring Real Madrid’s place among the continent’s elite.