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Unlike Alonso: Mourinho avoids the Mastantuono scenario with Diomande

Mourinho refuses to rush Diomande out of respect for the brilliance of Guler and Diaz

Real Madrid coach José Mourinho wants to avoid a repeat of the Franco Mastantuono case with his Ivorian forward Yan Diomande. That is why he is protecting him now so he can shine later.

AS newspaper reported that Diomande played 25, 6 and 26 minutes across Real Madrid's first three matches of the season against Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Malaga in La Liga.

To the ordinary fan, that is precious little time for the most expensive signing in Real Madrid's history, a player the club landed for 125 million euros.

Mourinho is keeping calm. He is sticking to a specific plan for the player, one built on easing the pressure, respecting the time he needs and refusing to spoil the project by rushing things.

Diomande is expected to play a vital role at Real Madrid this season and become the big star the club signed. After the Malaga match, Mourinho summed up his thinking on the young forward: "He has to move forward step by step. He works a lot and works well. He is open and humble, he wants to learn, he listens to his teammates, and he will develop."

"I cannot look at the figure of 120 or 130 million... how much did we pay?" the coach continued. "I have to look at a player coming from a high-level season with Leipzig. When we talk about a huge figure like this, we are talking about someone who arrives and explodes with all his force from the start. But that is not the case, he is a young player. Calm, take things easy."

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Mourinho protects Diomande with a calculated plan
Mourinho is achieving two objectives at once by taking his time with the Ivorian. He respects the time the player needs to adapt.
He is also dealing fairly with the likes of Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz, who delivered an excellent pre-season and, over the years, earned their place within the squad.
Xabi Alonso, for example, did not respect that balance. He favoured new arrival Mastantuono at the expense of Rodrygo, Diaz himself, and even Vinicius.
The Spanish coach burned out his Argentine, who was not mature enough to be a permanent starter. He also lost control of the dressing room.
Mourinho's plan protects Diomande so he can shine later. The player will gradually earn more minutes until he reaches the starting eleven if things go well, all without feeling the pressure.
Training is where Mourinho invests the time, drilling the Ivorian on the team's dynamics until he grasps them.
The player himself has understood the situation. He trusts his coach, keeps his smile and appears calm, and this is a man with top-level pedigree. Last season he featured for Leipzig in 33 of 34 Bundesliga matches, starting 28 of them, and scored 12 goals with 8 assists.