Is Jose Mourinho the man to take Real Madrid forward?

When asked by Spanish newspaper Marca who they wanted to see take their club forward next season, the Real Madrid faithful chose Rafael Benítez.

But after Inter Milan’s conquering of Barcelona experts say Jose is Mourinho is the man for the job, but would he fit in at the Bernabéu?

Madrid fans’ desire for success is second to none in the football world. Patience certainly isn’t something that a manager can expect if they take the top job in the Spanish capital, especially when their Catalan rivals Barcelona are very quickly establishing themselves as the best side in the world.

Taking that into account, you’d say that Mourinho would be a good appointment. He delivered instant success at Chelsea, bringing the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge in his first season in charge before doing the same thing again the following year, also throwing in an FA Cup and two League Cup successes for good measure.

The former Barcelona coach hasn’t exactly got a bad record in Europe either, winning the UEFA Cup and Champions League with Porto before taking Inter Milan to the final of Europe’s premier competition this season. Admittedly his Chelsea side were not fantastic in the competition, but they were by no means pushovers either.

Based on the analysis so far you’d probably say the San Siro boss is the perfect man for the job, but there are some things about him which make him far from the ideal candidate.

Firstly, there’s his personality. Mourinho lives to serve only one person: himself. No Bernabéu executive would be able to give him orders. He’d expect a good transfer budget and full control over who he signs. If he doesn’t get these things any potential spell in Madrid may be short lived.

Mourinho also enjoys a challenge, if he does it all in his first season, which despite his talent is unlikely, he may decide he’s happy with his accomplishments at the club and simply walk away to find another trophy to win somewhere else.

What may be considered the major problem with Mourinho is his style of football. Watching Milan in Barcelona was by no means riveting, with the Italian side making just over 60 passes in comparison to Barcelona’s 500. Wherever he’s been, Mourinho has never been a man to set his team out to play pretty football and that’s something that Madrid fans may not like.

Fabio Capello’s Madrid team, much like Mourinho’s sides, didn’t play particularly pretty football and the Madrid fans didn’t take to him, despite the fact the team were far from in a bad position. Clearly Madrid fans expect a lot from their team, and one of them is good football that can keep the Bernabéu entertained game after game.

But it seems strange, really. Real Madrid are considered to be one of the biggest clubs in the world and Mourinho is arguably one of the best managers around. Yet it’s impossible to say just how well the ‘special one’ would fare in Madrid.