José Mourinho has stepped back inside the walls of Valdebebas, returning to the Real Madrid dugout with a single objective: to restore the winning spirit to a team absent from the podiums for two straight seasons.
The return of the "Special One" was anything but quiet. It came loaded with bold tactical decisions and a starting line-up still taking shape, threatening to push big names out of the first team's plans.
The final shape of the side is not yet clear, but the early signs confirm the revolution has begun. The Portuguese coach kicked off his second spell without leaning on two signings expected to be key foundations this season, Marc Cucurella and the Ivorian Yan Diomandé. Radical changes to the XI that started last weekend now look inevitable.
Midfield sits at the centre of the biggest debate in Madrid. On his first appearance, Mourinho paired Bernardo Silva and Federico Valverde in a double pivot, with Jude Bellingham ahead of them as playmaker, a role that appears almost certainly reserved for him. Turkey's Arda Güler took the right wing, a position tipped to be the first casualty of Diomandé's arrival.
What is the final shape of Real Madrid's midfield?
Cadena SER's famous programme "El Larguero" set off this thorny issue when journalist Raúl Ruiz asked bluntly: "When Tchouaméni regains his readiness, who will Mourinho sacrifice? Will he leave out Bernardo Silva or Arda Güler?"
The answer landed as a shock from the heart of the "Real Madrid veterans' council", a panel of former stars. Analyst Rafa Alkorta confirmed he does not see Valverde as suited to the double pivot role.
Alkorta said: "I don't see him playing there, because I don't think he is a pivot player. We saw that in one of the attacks that led to Espanyol's goal. This does not mean that Tchouaméni would have prevented the goal, but Valverde is certainly not an anchor man, let alone a central midfielder. The player who moves the most and tries to link up play is Bernardo Silva."
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Ruiz again questioned the fate of the Uruguayan star: "Is there still a place for Valverde in this team, whether in midfield or on the right wing? I would be very surprised if Valverde did not start for Real Madrid."
Mourinho's tactical calculations may show no mercy. Should the Portuguese settle on Bernardo Silva and Tchouaméni in the middle, with Diomandé fixed on the right flank, both Valverde and Güler face a real risk of losing their place in the starting line-up.
Valverde "has not yet grasped the balanced style of play", Alkorta explained, noting that the position demands winning the ball back, running and continuous pressing, tasks in which Tchouaméni may prove more decisive.
Analyst Kiko Narváez agreed. "This is the coach's job. He has a team and a personality that enable him to choose the right moment for each player, and I agree with Rafa about Valverde. He has not yet grasped this style of play, because he has many attacking options moving from one side to another, which makes him lose his position."
Between the abundance of options and the complexities of the new tactics, Fede Valverde, one of the most committed and combative players in recent seasons, may be the biggest loser in Mourinho's second revolution. And it has only just begun at the Bernabéu.