Mourinho's Madrid are real deal

Despite his glittering array of achievements at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan it would be the second campaign at Real Madrid which would tell us just how special the ‘Special One’ is – with indications that he would quit the Bernabéu come what may.

That has changed. Now the signs are that Mourinho will stay in Madrid — he has two more years on his contract after this season — and that he is happier than ever. It’s clear he’s happy because he’s not saying anything. There have been no outbursts, no controversies, no grand statements. Nothing.

With all three of his former clubs in varying degrees of crisis, he has resisted the temptation to gloat. There has been no war of words, no provocation while the incident in August when he shoved his finger in the eye of Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova, after a tempestuous Super Cup tie, seems like an awful long time ago.

Instead, Mourinho has let his team do the talking and there is a quiet confidence that he has assembled a squad formidable enough to not only wrestle the Spanish title away from Barcelona, but also to take theChampions League trophy from Pep Guardiola.