Eye on La Liga : Should Reala starting planning for life after Mourinho?

When the “Special One” is unhappy and wants away, you can’t stop him, not even Real Madrid can, that’s why, if media reports are anything to take serious, Jose Mourinho could be on his out of Spain at the end of the season.Mourinho has come out and said he will “stick with Real Madrid until the end of the season”, a sign that there is indeed more in the speculations about his future at the Bernabeu than meets the eye. According to Madrid-based newspaper “AS”, insiders claim that [Jose] Mourinho is just one step away from leaving “Los Blancos” after yet another feud with the board.“You can have a 10-year contract in football and it does not matter. If everyone is happy the coach carries on, if they are not happy, he changes,” Mourinho said after his team beat city rivals Atletico Madrid 1-0 to reach the Spanish Cup semi-finals. The cause of the Mourinho’s problem is the rift between him and the club’s general manager Jorge Valdano, because the two cannot agree on a replacement for injured striker Higuain. The “Special One” has been demanding for a new forward to share with Ronaldo the burden of scoring goals, but Madrid’s board doesn’t want to hear any of that.After the draw against Almeria, who are currently placed last in La Liga last weekend, Valdano appeared to criticize the coach when he said that he did not understand why Mourinho is in need of a No. 9, when there was one [Karim Benzema] sitting on the bench. It is becoming an open secret that Mourinho is unhappy with Real Madrid’s structure. According to media reports, the former Chelsea and Inter coach believes that the general manager’s office is unorganized and lacks professionalism, which is caused by diverging opinions within the board. Real Madrid are on the hunt for a new striker to replace injured Higuain, who could be out for the rest of the season, but Valdano is reportedly pushing for Benzema to start alongside Cristiano Ronaldo up front. The French striker has had an unhappy time at Real since his multi-million dollar move from Lyon in the summer of 2009, with his lack of form last season seeing him miss out on a place in Real’s starting team, and Mourinho doesn’t believe the striker works hard enough [for the team]. We should not forget that at the start of the season, “the Special One” had already predicted that it would be hard to win La Liga and the Champions League without another striker; he couldn’t be more accurate in his prophecy. And if Valdano wins this battle and Real don’t buy another striker before the January transfer window, which will mean that Mourinho can only count on Benzema, but the Frenchman hasn’t impressed the Portuguese coach. As if to add salt to injury, last weekend’s slip-up means “Los Blancos” have to cut Barcelona’s four point lead, if they are to become champions. The supposed dream tenure at Real Madrid that the whole world talked about is fast becoming a nightmare for the “Special One”. Which raise the question, after Madrid, where next for the former FC Porto coach? Many fingers are pointing at Old Trafford as a possible future destination, but we can only wait and see. Mourinho and his love for the Premier league is something well documented and many would like to see him replacing Sir Alex Ferguson, when the great Scot finally quits the game. In the meantime, the in-house fighting at the Bernabeu is only contributing to a slow destruction of Real Madrid’s campaign, which is doing nothing but helping archrivals Barcelona, who seem invincible at the minute. So, will Mourinho’s fairy-tale in the Spanish capital end up with a smile? No one can tell, but by the look of it, I fear Madrid fans might as well expect to have a new coach come June. nku78@yahoo.com