In the aftermath of Real’s home defeat to Barcelona in the first-leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final media reports surfaced that Mourinho had a bust-up with players Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. A few days later Real fans booed Mourinho during their game with Athletic Bilbao for employing negative tactics, even though they came out on top 4-1.  This week Mourinho’s poor record against Barcelona continued when they got knocked out of the cup, although they deserve huge credit for the character they showed in fighting back from two goals down to draw level. It is believed that Mourinho must now win both La Liga and the Champions League in order to hold onto his job.

Bookmakers Stan James have reacted to the speculation by opening up a Next Real Madrid Manager betting market. Germany boss Joachim Low is the frontrunner in the betting, while Arsene Wenger, Guus Hiddink and Fabio Capello also feature. Mourinho has not been shy in stating his love for English football and is almost certainly expected to return at some point in the future. He is currently the favourite in the next Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham manager betting markets, as well as featuring prominantly in the Chelsea and Liverpool manager odds.

Real are at home to bottom of the table Real Zaragoza on Saturday. They are the overwhelming odds-on 1/20 favourites for the match, while Zaragoza have been handed long odds of 33/1, with a draw available at 11/1. Real are the 4/7 favourites to win La Liga and second favourites (behind Barcelona) at 5/2 to win the Champions League for the first time since 2002.

Odds courtesy of Stan James.

Could a Premier League return be on the cards for Mourinho?

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho according to reports coming out of the Bernabeu is ready to quit his position in the summer over the lack of support that he is receiving from the board at the club. If he does leave then there are several Premier League clubs that will be keen to have him on board.

If the rumours are to be believed there have been several spats between the special one and Jorge Valando the clubs general director. Valando made comments in the press over Mourinho’s descion to leave Karim Benzema on the bench during Real Madrid’s away game against Almeria who are currently at the bottom of La Liga, the game ended with a 1-1 score line.

Also troubling the “Special One” is the lack of transfer funds being given to the manager to strengthen his squad, last year Mourinho was eager to bring in striker Fernando Llorente from Athletic Bilbao but the board refused to fund the deal. He also has the unresolved contract dispute with Pepe that has not been settled and could see the player leave the club.

Mourinho is hoping to sign several players including Patrice Evra during the current transfer window which may be too costly for the board to finance.

Next English clubv for Mourino to manager

All odds come courtesy of Victor Chandler, click on the odds to bet.

• 11/8 – Manchester City
• 3/1 – Liverpool
• 3/1 – Manchester United
• 12/1 – Arsenal
• 16/1 – Chelsea
• 20/1 – Tottenham Hotspur

The pressure at Madrid cannot be matched anywhere else in the world and Mourinho will know that his long term future at the club could depend on the two games against Barcelona as well as how they perform in the Champions League. The team have qualified in style for the knock-out stages of the Champions League which is encouraging for Mourinho as he looks to win the tournament with his third different club, after winning with Porto in 2004 he claimed the trophy for Inter Milan last season but if he can repeat that feat with Real Madrid it would be his biggest success so far.

Likewise, Mourinho will already be feeling the pressure after the defeat to Barcelona and if he just falls short of the mark this season he can expect to be looking for a new job in the summer having spent a fair amount of money to boost his squad last summer. Real were outclassed and outplayed against Barcelona with Messi and Xavi tearing a dodgy Madrid defence apart while the stars of the team like Ronaldo and Di Maria were conspicuous by their poor performances. Mourinho is yet to fail during his Managerial career and he will no doubt be giving his all as he looks to overturn the dominance of Barcelona, that is something that a number of Managers have tried and failed to do and it remains to be seen whether Jose Mourinho will be the latest illustrious name to be added to that list.

At the moment Mourinho is still in his honeymoon period but that will quickly come to an end over the next few weeks as he faces up to the biggest challenge of his career, the Sack Race will be watching events at the Bernabeu over the next few weeks while the bookmakers will also be keeping an eye on La Liga with a keen interest.

Madrid have been through Managers like socks in recent years with Mourinho the next man in line to bring success back to the Bernabeu, it will not be easy though as Madrid have struggled in recent years with the Champions League proving particularly elusive to them in recent years. The Special One has won the Champions League with both Porto and Inter Milan in the past but doing it with Real Madrid will be his toughest task, they have failed to get beyond the last 16 since 2002 and a 10th European Crown is top of their wish list. The club have spent millions and millions in recent years with the likes of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso joining the club without success, Mourinho will need to find a way to get the best out of his big players whilst trying not to dampen the attractive football that the fans demand.

Real Madrid will know that if Mourinho can not take the team to Champions League glory then no can so he should be allowed a little bit of time to build his squad, at the same time though he will know that he will need to hit the ground running as soon as possible. As well as focusing on the Champions League, Mourinho will need to half an eye on usurping rivals Barcelona as the top team in Spain as they have not won the title for a couple of years, the Catalan club have just been too good in recent times and that will be something that Mourinho will want to address.

So far in his career Mourinho has had the golden touch as a Manager but he looks to have a tough task on his hands at the Bernabeu, if he can lead the team to success both domestically and on the European front it would act as his greatest ever achievement. He has already brought in a couple of stars of the World Cup in Mezut Ozil and Angel Di Maria and they should fit nicely into the squad, if he can bring all the players together there is no doubting they have the talent needed to succeed. His toughest task though will be in organising the defence rather than the attack, they have leaked goals in the big games and that will need to be put right by Mourinho as soon as possible.

We know that Mourinho does not like to stick around too long in any job so we are likely to see The Special One give everything for a couple of years before heading back to the Premier League, if he can turn Madrid into the dominant force in Spain and in the Champions League during that time it will be the crowning moment of an already successful career for Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho has made it clear of the past couple of years that he has struggled in Italian football despite enjoying his time at the San Siro, he has won the league twice and if he can deliver the Champions League trophy to Inter he will be a hero to the Italian fans no matter where he goes. Mourinho has won the League title in England, Portugal and Italy and he would love nothing more than to complete the set by taking La Liga in Spain with Real Madrid next season, Madrid have been overshadowed by Barcelona in recent years and whoever takes charge at the Bernabeu will have a tough task on their hands.

Mourinho is no doubt preparing his Inter Milan team for the match with Bayern Munich on Saturday night but he has fine the time to announce that he would love to manage real Madrid at some point in the future. According to the bookies that looks like being sooner than later with the Special One Odds-On to be starting next season in charge of Real Madrid. It will be n interesting match between a Mourinho and Real Madrid with the Portuguese Manager normally preferring a defensive approach while the history and tradition of Real Madrid demands attacking football that wins trophies. Manuel Pellegrini is the current gaffer at the Bernabeu but he is clearly on his way after the teams failure in the Champions League once again, he led the team to second in La Liga with a record points toal but it was not enough to overturn Barca and won’t be enough to keep his job.

Where Jose Mourinho Will Be at The Start of Next Season Odds with SkyBet - 20/05/2010

Real Madrid – 2/7
Inter Milan – 5/1
Liverpool – 8/1
Man City – 12/1
Man Utd – 50/1

All markets are supplied by SkyBet.com

It was made perfectly clear at the start of the season that the Champions League would be the priority for a team that spent in excess of £250million in the Summer, the team were dubbed the ‘new Galacticos’ after signing Kaka, Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso for huge transfer fees. Ronaldo has settled in well in Madrid but maybe looking on enviously at his former Man United teammates as they were crushing AC Milan at the same time as Madrid were being knocked out by Lyon. Publicly at least the powers that be have backed Manuel Pellegrini who has another year to run on his contract but behind closed doors it is understood that they have already started their search for a successor.

There will be two names who will jump to the top of the list for potential replacements in the Summer and they will be Arsene Wengerand Rafa Benitez who have both been linked to Madrid in the past. The Sack Race understands that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have been approached several times in recent years to take over at Real Madrid but that their advances have been rebuked each time. Wenger is clearly the man they want long term but the Arsenal Manager will know that he will not get the same power at the Bernabeu as he enjoys at the Emirates, at Arsenal he is in control of the entire playing side of the club but at Madrid he would have to accept being just the first team coach with no say on transfers.

The logical choice would be Rafael Benitez who is a well known Real Madrid fan having played and coached there in the past as well as being born and bred in the City, he is under huge pressure at Liverpool and may see this as the ideal chance to jump ship. Liverpool are reluctant to sack Benitez due to the huge contract pay-off he would recieve but an approach from Madrid may well be welcomed by both sides as the board at Anfield look for a reason to get rid of Rafa. One sticking point in this deal for Benitez would be similar to Wenger’s in terms of control at the club, Rafa has total control at Anfield currently in terms of the playing side and he would have to be prepared to give that up if he went to the Bernabeu.

That search will begin now as Pellegrini is a dead man walking at the moment having lost the dressing room, the support of the fans not to mention Florentino Perez, the Club President was expecting success in Europe with his investment and that has not been forthcoming. The £60 million Kaka was substituted on Wednesday night after having a poor game and was clearly unhappy with the decision showing dissent as he left the pitch and that is just another nail in the Manager’s coffin.

Real Madrid Manager On the First Day Of Next Season Betting With Skybet as of 11/03/2010

Jose Mourinho 11/8
Manuel Pellegrini 3/1
Rafa Benitez 4/1
Arsene Wenger 6/1
Guus Hiddink 16/1

Odds Supplied Courtesy Of Skybet.com

Could Jose be heading to Anfield?

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly unsettled in Italy and pining for a return to England or a new challenge in Spain, so where will the ‘The Special One’ end up next when he leaves Inter? VC Bet have opened up an excellent market called Jose Mourinho Next Club betting amid speculation that Jose is itching to leave the San Siro as he is feeling unappreciated, this despite winning the league last term and are once again in pole position to do exactly the same this season in Serie A. the news that Jose may just be on the market will alert all the major clubs across Europe as the Portuguese Manager has proven track record wherever he has managed, he has tasted success at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

The favourite for Mourinho’s next port of call at the moment with VC Bet is Liverpool, Rafa Benitez has been struggling at Anfield for sometime and with Jose possibly on the market the board maybe inclined to act quicker than they otherwise would have. As Manager of Chelsea Mourinho had some epic clashes with Liverpool and may relish the challenge of leading them to their first Premier League crown, punters can get odds of 2/1 on Liverpool being the next job for Jose. Real Madrid are lurking as always as they are thought to be less than happy with current Manager Manuel Pellegrini, Madrid have never been shy in sacking a Manager and they are available at 4/1 to be Mourinho’s next club.

However, The Sack Race believes that his most likely destination at this stage could well be Eastlands and Man City who are desperate for success both domestically and on the European front, Manager Mark Hughes is under pressure following a succession of draws and after spending a huge amount of money the board are expecting results. The owners at City may be on the look out for a bigger name than Hughes and it is likely that Jose Mourinho fits that bill perfectly, he would be offered millions in the way of a transfer budget and we feel that this story should be watched closely over the coming weeks and months.

One thing for sure is that while speculation builds that Mourinho is itching for a return to England, all the big Premier League Managers will be anxiously looking over their shoulders as ‘The Special One’ is lurking in the shadows.

Jose Mourinho Next Club Odds with VC Bet at 02/12/2009 – Click to Bet

Liverpool 2/1
Real Madrid 4/1
Man City 4/1
Man United 5/1
Chelsea 8/1
Tottenham 10/1
Arsenal 12/1
Juventus 14/1
Barcelona 14/1
Benfica 20/1
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