Mourinho is still talking a good game, Spanish cowboy style

Those who expected Jose Mourinho to enliven Spanish football have not been disappointed as he rode into Spain's capital last summer like a gun-slinging cowboy determined to make his mark quickly.

Those who expected Jose Mourinho to enliven Spanish football have not been disappointed. Mourinho rode into Spain's capital last summer like a gun-slinging cowboy determined to make his mark quickly.
As cocksure as ever after winning the domestic and European treble with Inter Milan, he wanted to do things his way.
He has faced many external and internal challenges at Real Madrid, a club used to doing things their way, but it is Mourinho who is "winning".
His brutally honest assessments of everything have brought him admirers in the media who enjoy his verbal barbs that are the opposite of tired cliches - and many enemies in football.
The targets of his jibes have been varied. In just one colourful news conference last week he hit out at referees, kick-off times, Manuel Pellegrini (the man he replaced) and also accused a journalist of being "a hypocrite".
Mourinho later apologised, perhaps sensing that he had gone too far when other journalists began to ask more difficult questions than he had been accustomed to.
He is a wily operator, but he knows that the media have a lot of power when it comes to influencing decisions at Real. A clause in his contract with Real means Mourinho can walk away at the end of the season without penalty. Real have the same option and, while the club may have worked through 25 coaches in the past 24 years, their latest coach represents the last chance for Florentino Perez, the club president who is now into his fifth season without winning a trophy.
Far better is expected at the Bernabeu and another change of coach is not the solution. After all, who is more likely to bring success than Mourinho, who has amassed 17 top-level trophies in just seven years of management?
Perez's Galactico policy failed in his first stint as president and so now he empowers his coach who has never been slow to empower himself.
Previously Perez has made signings and put pressure on coaches to play them.
Not now. Mourinho has won key political victories behind the scenes at the club, such as the public spat with Jorge Valdano, the sporting director. He got the striker he wanted when Gonzalo Higuain was injured with the loan signing of Emmanuel Adebayor.
The signing was astute, for not only has Adebayor been a satisfactory addition, his arrival saw renewed competition, determination and an improvement from Karim Benzema.
With the league's top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, out injured for the first time this season at Racing Santander this past Sunday, the Benzema-Abebayor combination were responsible for all three goals in Real's 3-1 win. Benzema has scored six in his past five games.
Looking ahead, Mourinho is also right when he talks about Real's continuing improvement and admitted last week that "the second season [at a club] is always the best for a manager and the players".
His greatest challenge is overcoming Barcelona. He is unlikely to do that by beating them in the league - Real are seven points behind - though his side meet the Catalans in the Spanish Cup final next month. Mourinho has a carrot and stick approach when it comes to his club's greatest rivals.
"I don't expect Barca to fail," he said at the weekend. "They win when they're playing good, and when they're not, strange things happen." Such a comment provokes controversy because it implies that Barca have referees on their side.
Real are also still in the Champions League and after spending more than ?350 million (Dh1.8 billion) since returning as president in 2009, Perez is desperate for a trophy, preferably the club's 10th European Cup. With 10 weeks of the season left, Real are well positioned.
 
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