Before the Clásico battle gets under way on the pitch, the Catalan newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" has opened a file José Mourinho may not wish to revisit. The paper reminded him of the fate that befell a string of Real Madrid coaches after defeat to Barcelona, piling extra pressure on the Portuguese ahead of the eagerly awaited clash between the two rivals.
Close to Barcelona, the newspaper highlighted a series of cases in which a Clásico defeat became a pivotal moment in a Madrid coach's future. It places Mourinho before a heavy record of precedents, and the stakes only rise with the gap between the two sides set to stretch to nine points should the Catalans win.
Mourinho does not face the risk of immediate dismissal, and he enters the match with the declared backing of the Real Madrid board. Even so, the newspaper noted that the name of Frenchman Didier Deschamps has begun to circulate in some quarters as a possible successor to the Portuguese, should matters take a turn for the worse.
Alonso and Lopetegui: the Clásico was the final blow
Mundo Deportivo recalled the experience of Xabi Alonso, who lost the Spanish Super Cup final to Barcelona last season. The Real Madrid board ended his mission a few days later, making him the most recent name linked to a departure that followed defeat to the Catalan rival.
Julen Lopetegui offered another lesson. Back in 2018, the heavy 5-1 defeat to Barcelona came as part of a run of poor results that hastened the end of his spell with the Madrid side.
Lopetegui had taken charge of Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's successor, arriving off the back of the crisis around his exit from the Spanish national team before the start of the World Cup in Russia.
With the team stumbling against Atlético Madrid, Alavés and Levante, the Clásico defeat landed as an additional blow to his position. He was dismissed in October of the same year.
Benítez paid the price, and Schuster left before the clash
The list did not stop there. The newspaper also recalled Rafa Benítez, under whom Real Madrid suffered a harsh 4-0 defeat to Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2015.
Benítez did not leave immediately after that match, but the defeat ramped up the pressure around him. As the results kept sliding, the club dismissed him in January 2016.
Bernd Schuster walked away before his clash with Barcelona even arrived, having declared that Real Madrid would not be able to win at the Camp Nou. Juande Ramos took over, only to lose to Barcelona before suffering a historic 6-2 defeat in Madrid.
Will Mourinho add his name to the list?
Carlo Ancelotti features too. The newspaper pointed out that the defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final was among the factors that pushed him to settle his decision to take the Brazil national team job.
By rolling out these names, Mundo Deportivo places Mourinho before the other face of the Clásico. A big result is there for the taking. Defeat, though, could turn into a fresh source of pressure on the coach, especially if it bites in the league race.
History does not have to repeat itself, and a Clásico defeat alone decides no coach's future. Yet the central message of the Catalan newspaper's report is clear: before facing Barcelona, it is not enough for Mourinho to think about the three points. He must also reckon with a legacy of precedents that have turned the Clásico into a test of the future for a number of Real Madrid coaches.