Mourinho wasn't a failure at Madrid afterall

image source: inserbia.info

Jose Mourinho left Real Madrid this season without any major trophy added to his or Real Madrid's name, he didn't win the Champions League with Los Blancos in three occasions, he only won one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey, but is he considered a failure for Real Madrid?

Well, for The 'Special One' it might be a disappointing period as he usually achieves much more with the clubs he manages, but for Real Madrid it was definitely not a failure and here is why:

• They reached the Champions League semi-final three consecutive times with Mou, the last time Real managed to reach the semi-final was back in 2002/03
• They won La Liga for the first time in 2011–12 since 2007–08, as Barcelona dominated the league from 2008 till 2011
• In 2011, Madrid won first Copa del Rey in 18 years
• Third highest winning rate in Real Madrid history, at 72.67%
• Most league goals scored in a season: 121 goals in 2011–12 season
• Most points in a season overall: 100 (87.72% of points) in 2011–12 season (Barcelona matched this record in 2012-2013)
• After losing 5-0 in the first El Clasico and struggling against Barcelona for the first 10 games where he won only one in 20/04/2011 at the Copa del Rey final, Mou was impressive against the Catalans in the last eight matches, where he won four times including two at the Camp Nou, and lost only one time

In addition to all the above numbers and facts, the Portuguese left his mark on Real's formation, where he adopted the 4-2-3-1 which was the key behind Madrid's speed in counter attacks and solid defensive midfield with Khedira and Alonso getting support from Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Maria.

Mourinho also worked on a very important factor with Real Madrid, the Stamina, which again was a huge advantage against some teams and specially against Barcelona where it clearly gave them the upper hand in the last minutes of some games like the 2011 Copa del Rey final when Ronaldo scored in the minute 103 (a.e.t.).

So in terms of trophies, The 'Special One' might be questioned, but in other aspects he was definitely a success at the Bernabéu.