Mourinho Wins First Trophy Of Real Madrid’s Second Coming

Mourinho Wins First Trophy of Real Madrid’s Second Coming

José Mourinho has made a winning start to his second spell as Real Madrid manager, guiding the Spanish giants to a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruña to lift the Trofeo Teresa Herrera at Riazor.

Brahim Díaz scored the decisive goal shortly before half-time as Mourinho collected his first piece of silverware since returning to the Santiago Bernabéu this summer. The match was decided by a moment of quality from Brahim. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin launched a long pass forward during a quick Real Madrid counterattack. Brahim controlled the ball under pressure before finishing to give Madrid the lead just before the interval. Deportivo pushed for an equaliser after the break and created several opportunities, but Lunin and the Madrid defence held firm to preserve the narrow victory. The Teresa Herrera is a pre-season tournament, so the victory does not carry the significance of a La Liga, Champions League or Copa del Rey title. Nevertheless, it gives Mourinho an early trophy in his second Madrid tenure and ends the club’s wait for silverware after a trophyless 2025-26 campaign.Mourinho returned to Real Madrid after the club appointed him on a three-year contract through June 2029. It is his second spell in charge, following his first tenure between 2010 and 2013. The victory was also significant in the history of the tournament. Real Madrid have now won the Teresa Herrera Trophy 10 times, moving into second place on the competition’s all-time honours list. Deportivo remain the record winners with 26 titles. Madrid had not appeared in the tournament since 2013, when they also defeated Deportivo. Despite winning the trophy, Mourinho made clear that his priority was using the match to prepare his squad for the new season. The Portuguese coach rotated his team and limited some players to 45 minutes as he continued assessing his options ahead of the competitive campaign. He said the game provided a useful test because of its similarity to the type of contests Madrid will encounter in La Liga. “Next week, the real work begins,” Mourinho said after the match, signalling that the focus will soon shift from pre-season experimentation to competitive football. The trophy offers Mourinho and Madrid supporters an early reason for optimism, but it also comes with a reminder that much bigger challenges lie ahead. Real Madrid are rebuilding after two consecutive seasons without a major trophy, and expectations surrounding Mourinho’s return are enormous.

The club’s next pre-season assignment is against Schalke 04, before Madrid begin their La Liga campaign against Real Sociedad.

For now, however, Mourinho can celebrate his first success of his second Madrid chapter. Brahim Díaz supplied the goal, Lunin helped preserve the lead and Mourinho collected his first trophy albeit a pre-season one as Real Madrid manager once again.