Mourinho and his ‘machine’

It’s many years since Real Madrid fans have been as happy going into a new campaign.

Jose Mourinho’s side finished last season with a record 100 points after scoring a historic 121 goals in 38 games, while they were also boosted by the departure of Josep Guardiola, the architect of Barcelona’s recent success. The momentum is all with José Mourinho’s men now, and the likely addition of Luka Modric from Spurs should further strengthen their squad.

Mourinho has not been shy about talking up Madrid’s chances and his own contribution. Earlier this week he told Portuguese station SIC that he no longer should be known as the ‘Special One’, given all he has achieved in his career so, he reckons, ‘The Only One’ would be a more suitable title. After his side won all four games on their pre-season US tour, including a 5-1 defeat of Milan and a 2-0 victory over Celtic, he predicted further improvement from his team this year.