Jose Mourinho identifies Real Madrid’s weak link, formulates plan to make it right | OneFootball

Real Madrid may have finished La Liga with the league’s best defensive numbers last season, but that statistic hides the harsh reality and struggle of the club in that department.

Plagued by injuries, both Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa struggled to find a winning centre-back combination throughout the season.

In fact, it was the fragile defence that cost the team heavily at the end of the season across all competitions, and the board thus see it to be non-negotiable for the department to see a revamp this summer.

Mourinho’s priority

As reported by MARCA, Jose Mourinho has openly told Real Madrid’s administration that the defence is the team’s biggest weakness across all positions across the field.

Mourinho has identified the problem. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

His top priority, thus, is to build a more solid and reliable back-line with sufficient quality and depth to coast through the entire season even if injuries strike once more.

Over the years, the manager has carved out a reputation for himself of being one of the best assemblers of defensive units, and given how that is exactly what Los Blancos require, his appointment may seriously help.

A need for specific profiles

The Spanish outlet also further the exact profiles Mourinho is looking for across all the defensive positions –  and it is clear that he has very clear priorities.

Mourinho likes Gvardiol as an option. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Mourinho is looking for central defenders who are capable of adapting to different scenarios and are flexible with their positioning and he admires the likes of Josko Gvardiol and Riccardo Calafiori in that front.

For his full-backs, meanwhile, the coach expects to have players with complementary profiles. That implies that he wants one of his full-backs to be attacking and another one to be defence-centred so as to ensure stability at the back.

Further, he sees such a setup to be useful to modify the formula according to the team’s needs and match-states – something he feels is essential for a winning project.