The Mourinho Method and the Casillas Clash
When Jose Mourinho arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, it seemed that he was going to be the difference-maker for the club's fortunes. After a few years of FC Barcelona dominating European football, the Portuguese manager was seen as the right man to lead Los Blancos to new victories. However, while there was a certain degree of success, there were also several controversies, such as issues with the club's new captain, goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
Iker Casillas making a save
Poor Performances
There has always been this notion that Mourinho never fancied Casillas as his starting keeper but had to persist with him for a while because of his status within the club. His height and overreliance on reflexes were two elements that the Portuguese's defenders have always brought up.Furthermore, this idea has been reinforced by the rumors that linked Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who Mourinho coached at Inter Milan, who was significantly taller and stronger than Casillas. Signing Diego Lopez in the 2013 January transfer window was another major sign, with the Portuguese benching the captain for the remaining games of the season.
Friendship With Barcelona players
Anyone who has lived that era knows that the Real Madrid-Barcelona matches had a lot of heat and tension. The matches were raw, with a lot of conflict, and this is something that the Portuguese manager wanted to convey to his players. In his mind, the more there was a feeling of animosity between the Madrid and Barcelona players, the better. However, according to reports and rumors, Casillas didn't see eye to eye with him in that regard.Casillas, apparently, wasn't into waging war with the Barcelona players, particularly those of the Spanish national team. Highly successful during that time period, Spain often had issues getting the footballers from its two biggest clubs to work together, but they did and the results were to see.
Therefore, when, according to reports, both Xavi Hernandez and Casillas, lifelong friends and representatives of each of the two clubs, built a rapport to ease the tension of El Clasico, Mourinho was livid. There have been reports that the manager took this as an affront, thus beginning his issues with the goalkeeper.
Casillas has gone on record saying that he didn't do that, though.
Things Were Leaking to the Press
This one is the reason that is brought up the most and Mourinho even went on record saying something along those lines when discussing his decisions as the Real Madrid manager."Would I do anything differently if I had the chance to do the past three years over again? I should have brought in Diego López after my first year. We didn't do enough to sign him. It's a real shame."
"The press don't go on the plane with the team? I'm sorry but I think that is correct. The press are not allowed in at training sessions? Correct. The press don't know the starting XI? Correct. I don't put your beloved children in the team? Correct."
Given the context, it is easy to see that he meant Casillas. The Spanish keeper always had a good relationship with the press, especially with the journalist Sara Carbonero because, well, they were involved romantically.
This resulted in suspicions by Mourinho that the goalkeeper was leaking things to the press, such as El Clasico lineups, issues within the structure of the club, and so forth. And when Casillas was dropped, things got even more tense.
Mourinho Wanted Chaos
This has been a common trope throughout Mourinho's career as a manager. The more time he spends at a club, the more issues he begins to have with his players. While it is true that there is evidence that Casillas made mistakes with him, the Portuguese always wants to assert himself as the dominant force in any dressing room.The issues at Real Madrid not only included Casillas, but also the likes of Pepe, Sergio Ramos, and even Cristiano Ronaldo. Let's not forget that Mourinho, the following summer after leaving Madrid, called Ronaldo Nazario "the real Ronaldo", as an obvious dig at Cristiano.
Therefore, it is clear that the situation between Casillas and him wasn't an exception to the rule. Mourinho tends to have issues with at least one major player in every team that he has coached, which is something that could be considered a factor in this situation.
The Aftermath
It is interesting how Mourinho and Casillas are mostly remembered fondly by the Madrid faithful, but there is a number of people who can't look past their controversies.With Mourinho, it is easy to understand that. He has always been a divisive manager, which means that he is always going to be difficult to accept, especially regarding his defensive-minded football and his willingness to get into controversies.
However, when it comes to Casillas, a lot of people lost sympathy for him after this event, with some claiming that he threw Mourinho under the bus. When his performances began to wane during the following seasons, this is something that a lot of people remembered and blamed him for the sacking of Mourinho.
However, there is no denying that both men have delivered a lot of positive things for Real Madrid. Sadly, as far as people know, they never managed to bury the hatchet and things have been left pretty sour between them ever since.
There isn't a clear confirmation of what happened between the two parties and what this meant for the club as a whole. However, it is very clear they were both deeply affected by this and were not the same ever since.