Intensity defines Jose Mourinho’s first week back at Real Madrid | OneFootball

Real Madrid are all set to embark on another new project as they appointed Jose Mourinho after another trophyless season, and all the turbulence that surrounded the club during the 2025-26 season.

The Portuguese manager has thus returned to the Merengue club after a break of 13 years, and has already got to work. He started his preseason training on 13 July, even though most of the first team players have not yet reported back to the club.

From the looks of it, Mourinho has returned to Real Madrid with a vengeance, as Diario AS highlights that one word that characterizes his first few training sessions at Valdebebas is intensity. Despite not having all of his players available, he has overseen very demanding training sessions, not allowing any of the players to relax.

Even the high heat is not pushing him to compromise on his demands, as the available players and youngsters continue to train tirelessly, both on the pitch, where physical work is combined with work on the ball, and in the gym, where the players are undertaking strength exercises.

One of the highlights of the second training session, held yesterday, on Tuesday, was the return of the hypoxia masks, which have been one of the defining and favorite tools of Antonio Pintus. These help the fitness coach assess the condition of the players, especially after spending the last few days away on vacation.

Despite the highly demanding sessions, the players are responding positively, and are all keen to impress the new coach going into the next season. Hopefully, the hard work they are doing in the preseason will pay off in the upcoming season, and they will get back to their best levels to help Real Madrid achieve all of the objectives they have set for their new project.