UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[Futurexxx]

Jose Mourinho is a business man who understands his job very well so right now then you think he's with a contract with Benfica so he won't be going to Real Madrid he will be expecting Real Madrid to make him a offer and you will see him moving back to Spain with his bags, don't even think about how he's going to do it but trust me if Benfica can beat Real Madrid again in the play off then expect Jose Mourinho to become the new Real Madrid coach because right now he may be eyeing the job since they need an experience coach .

I agree with you that he may be eyeing the real madrid job, that's why he is doing everything possible not to disrespect the club, and his current statement about this upcoming tie between benfica and real madrid says it all, but I don't think that it's going to happen, though not impossible, but it's very much unlikely, since Perez wouldn't understand that the team needs an experience manager as we are looking at it, or he may have some other things in mind. But if they still lose to this benfica team and eventually crash out of the competition, their is no way Arbeloa their current head coach wouldn't be sacked.

[SmartCharpa]

This is one part of football that is not often spoken about, whenever  a team does nicely, you hardly see people come out  in their numbers to commend the coach well enough  but if they happen  to fail  and loose a game, the coach will be given every form of abuse and sometimes insult for poor strategy and not been able  to holed place with the team so well, I join in the commendation for mourinho, he did a nice job and Benfica got it right with Madrid in that fixture, we will be hoping they keep up with that form.

The next game of the champions league is said to be the one people are most talking about Real Madrid and Benfica. They call the game a revenge game for Real Madrid to get back at Benfica after beating them in their last game of the round one. Now advancing at this stage for Real Madrid is very hard to happen because playing against Real Madrid knowing fully well that this is their last chance to be in the competition will be very hard for them to advance to the next round of the competition. I know that this two teams will try their best but Real Madrid still stands to be the best in this encounter than Benfica would.

Benfica destroyed Real Madrid in their last Champions League game, and both teams will face each other in the playoffs. The second leg will determine which  teams will make it to the round of 16. Real Madrid performance is very weak, and I’m not sure if their performance will improve this season, they hardly play game without conceding a goal, the last time Real Madrid played a Champions League game without conceding goas was against Kairat.

If Real Madrid defensive does not improve, I doubt they will go far in the Champions League this season, there is no point of scoring goals when you can’t stop your opponent from scoring goals. I hope Real Madrid get revenge on that game to qualify for the next round, because I’m not confident about Real Madrid beating any opponent this season.

[barisbilgili]

Jose Mourinho is a business man who understands his job very well so right now then you think he's with a contract with Benfica so he won't be going to Real Madrid he will be expecting Real Madrid to make him a offer and you will see him moving back to Spain with his bags, don't even think about how he's going to do it but trust me if Benfica can beat Real Madrid again in the play off then expect Jose Mourinho to become the new Real Madrid coach because right now he may be eyeing the job since they need an experience coach .

I agree with you that he may be eyeing the real madrid job, that's why he is doing everything possible not to disrespect the club, and his current statement about this upcoming tie between benfica and real madrid says it all, but I don't think that it's going to happen, though not impossible, but it's very much unlikely, since Perez wouldn't understand that the team needs an experience manager as we are looking at it, or he may have some other things in mind. But if they still lose to this benfica team and eventually crash out of the competition, their is no way Arbeloa their current head coach wouldn't be sacked.

I don't think so. Real Madrid's management certainly has plenty of other options for finding an experienced coach, while Jose Mourinho's reputation as a manager has dwindled after numerous failures with his previous teams. His work with Benfica was simply a display of professionalism.
And in the playoffs, it will certainly be difficult, I think, to knock Real Madrid out.

[stompix]

I just read that the participant coefficient of La Liga in Europe has declined. One of the direct qualifications for the league stage this year is very poor for the participants from La Liga. In the current La Liga coefficient ranking, they are in fourth place. They are only 0.31 behind Serie A. So if they do not immediately improve their performance in the UCL or Europa League, Spain could potentially be surpassed by Italy, reducing the direct qualifications to Europe.

Source: https://www.vietnam.vn/id/la-liga-lam-nguy

Yeah, always funny when you have some guy from Vietnam trying to write articles about things that are beyond his comprehension

If La Liga doesn't improve its performance soon and let Italy, Portugal and France overtake it, it will lose a place in the Champions League, reducing the number of eligible clubs from four to just three.

Somebody tell this guy that Spain has 5! teams right now in the Champions League!

[mv1986]

I also doubt that Mourinho would want to return to Real Madrid, but here I see that Real Madrid really needs a new coach if they still want to compete in the Premier League this season, regardless of who they bring in, but they have to do it. 

And I see that there are still several experienced coaches available for them to bring in, not just Jose Mourinho; I even really hope that Zidane would want to come back to become the coach of Real Madrid.

@stompix I admit this got me thinking. I am not always up to date when it comes to football politics. It reminds me of those rumors that Al Nassr wanted to join UEFA once, but I never followed up on it and never found out whether there was something to that rumor.

Now here is another one: do you know anything about this? Is it true that Real Madrid will join the Premier League if they get a new coach? According to @Fakhrulenclix, a new coach would be the condition to join the Premier League. But this leaves us with the mother of all questions:

@ Fakhrulenclix, which Premier League are you referring to? English? That would be incredible and I am all for it! Don't tell us Real Madrid wants to join the Ethiopian Premier League because that would be a loss for European football to say the least (but good for Ethiopia of course!).

[Razmirraz]

Jose Mourinho is a business man who understands his job very well so right now then you think he's with a contract with Benfica so he won't be going to Real Madrid he will be expecting Real Madrid to make him a offer and you will see him moving back to Spain with his bags, don't even think about how he's going to do it but trust me if Benfica can beat Real Madrid again in the play off then expect Jose Mourinho to become the new Real Madrid coach because right now he may be eyeing the job since they need an experience coach .

I know Jose Mourinho is an ambitious coach, previously he has also won several trophies with different clubs including Real Madrid. His success in bringing Benfica into the play-off round after defeating Real Madrid made his name shine again. He will again lead Benfica as they look to secure their place in the knockout stages after the draw brought them back to Real Madrid.
I think Jose Mourinho doesn't really expect an offer from Real Madrid, he has already felt the pressure while working there. Real Madrid always demands that the coach win every match, if he is unable to win a trophy at the end of the season, then the coach will be considered a failure. It is not uncommon for coaches who have managed Real Madrid to have to leave their jobs, as Ancelotti experienced.

[bastisisca]

I don't think so. Real Madrid's management certainly has plenty of other options for finding an experienced coach, while Jose Mourinho's reputation as a manager has dwindled after numerous failures with his previous teams. His work with Benfica was simply a display of professionalism.
And in the playoffs, it will certainly be difficult, I think, to knock Real Madrid out.

By now I think they know that this season is over, at least as far as their primary objective is concerned: the Champions League.
The rest, namely the Liga, are still in contention but the important thing for them, in my opinion, is to find a good coach for next season in order to give continuity.

[Frankolala]

Jose Mourinho is a business man who understands his job very well so right now then you think he's with a contract with Benfica so he won't be going to Real Madrid he will be expecting Real Madrid to make him a offer and you will see him moving back to Spain with his bags, don't even think about how he's going to do it but trust me if Benfica can beat Real Madrid again in the play off then expect Jose Mourinho to become the new Real Madrid coach because right now he may be eyeing the job since they need an experience coach .

I agree with you that he may be eyeing the real madrid job, that's why he is doing everything possible not to disrespect the club, and his current statement about this upcoming tie between benfica and real madrid says it all, but I don't think that it's going to happen, though not impossible, but it's very much unlikely, since Perez wouldn't understand that the team needs an experience manager as we are looking at it, or he may have some other things in mind. But if they still lose to this benfica team and eventually crash out of the competition, their is no way Arbeloa their current head coach wouldn't be sacked.

Everything happening is a mere coincidence and nothing more. Mourinho didn't display his experience on the players that day because he wanted to gain attention from Perez in hiring him. He only proved to Real Madrid that if he has a better squad he can win any team that crosses his part which he showed it. Mourinho is good at managing a smaller club and not all these big European clubs..

[emrecemsan]

By now I think they know that this season is over, at least as far as their primary objective is concerned: the Champions League.
The rest, namely the Liga, are still in contention but the important thing for them, in my opinion, is to find a good coach for next season in order to give continuity.

I don't agree with this. Why would they think it's over yet? As you also said they are still competing for the title in the La Liga. The gap is only 1 point so it's still on... I don't think it's over for the CL either.

Do you remember how they managed to become champions in this tournament anyway despite struggling in the recent years? 

However I can agree with one important thing. Their performance isn't consistent at all. Arbeloa isn't the one for the job clearly. Xabi Alonso should have stayed or got sacked on the condition that they find a reliable manager.  

[wakier]

I don't think so. Real Madrid's management certainly has plenty of other options for finding an experienced coach, while Jose Mourinho's reputation as a manager has dwindled after numerous failures with his previous teams. His work with Benfica was simply a display of professionalism.
And in the playoffs, it will certainly be difficult, I think, to knock Real Madrid out.

By now I think they know that this season is over, at least as far as their primary objective is concerned: the Champions League.
The rest, namely the Liga, are still in contention but the important thing for them, in my opinion, is to find a good coach for next season in order to give continuity.

Why do you say as if Real Madrid didn't qualify for the next round and they ended up here?? in my opinion Real Madrid will not end in the playoff round they will definitely qualify for the next round, regarding their chance to win the title in the Champions League Real Madrid also still has that chance. If you remember how last season went when PSG did not qualify directly and they had to go through the playoff round but in the end they were the ones who lifted the trophy so even though right now Real Madrid has to go through the play off round everything is not over for Madrid.

[Princess Leah]

By now I think they know that this season is over, at least as far as their primary objective is concerned: the Champions League.
The rest, namely the Liga, are still in contention but the important thing for them, in my opinion, is to find a good coach for next season in order to give continuity.

I don't agree with this. Why would they think it's over yet? As you also said they are still competing for the title in the La Liga. The gap is only 1 point so it's still on... I don't think it's over for the CL either.

Do you remember how they managed to become champions in this tournament anyway despite struggling in the recent years? 

However I can agree with one important thing. Their performance isn't consistent at all. Arbeloa isn't the one for the job clearly. Xabi Alonso should have stayed or got sacked on the condition that they find a reliable manager.  

All hope is not lost for them, if they were not in the play-off then I would've agreed that it's over and they have to try again later next season with a better coach, but being in the playoffs means that they have a second chance to qualify for the next round and if they work gard enough they could qualify even as Arbeloa as coach.

 Arbeloa is just a temporary coach since they couldn't get a better replacement for Xabi Alonso, however I believe that they're working on it and would get a quality coach and new players that would help strengthen the team and make them consistent again.

[stompix]

I also doubt that Mourinho would want to return to Real Madrid, but here I see that Real Madrid really needs a new coach if they still want to compete in the Premier League this season, regardless of who they bring in, but they have to do it. 

And I see that there are still several experienced coaches available for them to bring in, not just Jose Mourinho; I even really hope that Zidane would want to come back to become the coach of Real Madrid.

@stompix I admit this got me thinking. I am not always up to date when it comes to football politics. It reminds me of those rumors that Al Nassr wanted to join UEFA once, but I never followed up on it and never found out whether there was something to that rumor.

Yeah they wanted but they lost in the ICC T20 qualifying!
I think it was Los Angeles Lakers that beat them 6-1 6-0, the last points at the 12th hole were so embarrassing, like seriously 3 times down on the floor in one round?

I'm wondering what do these guys even think when they post these do they Google the team name and copy-paste something from the first article or what? I know some morons do paraphrase reddit posts from live events but how rotten does your brain have to be for this?

We need a wall of shame topic!!!!

@ Fakhrulenclix, which Premier League are you referring to? English? That would be incredible and I am all for it! Don't tell us Real Madrid wants to join the Ethiopian Premier League because that would be a loss for European football to say the least (but good for Ethiopia of course!).

Today I learned that the team leading the Ethiopian Premier League is called Sidama Coffee!
Now my question is what am I going to do with all this acquired knowledge 

[verdinio]

I don't think so. Real Madrid's management certainly has plenty of other options for finding an experienced coach, while Jose Mourinho's reputation as a manager has dwindled after numerous failures with his previous teams. His work with Benfica was simply a display of professionalism.
And in the playoffs, it will certainly be difficult, I think, to knock Real Madrid out.

Real Madrid is certainly a club that can do everything it wants, of course it has to choose well, i don't think that the right choice is Jose Mourinho who is true he coached Real Madrid and he did it well too, but times have changed and i don't know if this thing is still right!

[$weetne$$]

I don't think so. Real Madrid's management certainly has plenty of other options for finding an experienced coach, while Jose Mourinho's reputation as a manager has dwindled after numerous failures with his previous teams. His work with Benfica was simply a display of professionalism.
And in the playoffs, it will certainly be difficult, I think, to knock Real Madrid out.

Will Real Madrid be really willing to go for Jose Mourinho? Because I have not seen them trying in any way to have some forms of affiliation with him or even a contact to him for them to come to terms for a deal for him to be in charge of the team. There are other fine coaches out there like you mentioned but I do not know  if Madrid will be willing  to give a chance to those ones.  Also been exceptional with Benfica does not mean he is going  to be so with Madrid, this weather similar case with Amorim at Manchester United and at sporting.

[Futurexxx]

Real Madrid is certainly a club that can do everything it wants, of course it has to choose well, i don't think that the right choice is Jose Mourinho who is true he coached Real Madrid and he did it well too, but times have changed and i don't know if this thing is still right!

You just said what's in my mind bro, time has has changed, those defensive playing patterns or that pattern of setting his team to counter attack is not as effective as it uses to be because football has evolved to the level whereby if you are too defensive, you will be brutally punished.

Though in his second stink at Chelsea, his Chelsea team that won the league was more attacking than defensive, so we shouldn't be too sure if he can't play an attacking football with this real madrid team, but the key thing I think that any reasonable coach should know is the strength of his team. So if he can set up this real madrid team according to their strengths, if eventually he is made the manager of real madrid, nothing is impossible to achieve with them.

[pewboy]

If he can do is best and make Real Madrid qualify for the round of 16 in the champions league they will trust him better and he can become permanent coach for the team the way other coaches are. Let see there game against Benfica and know if they can defeat them or not, because the way Madrid play against benfica in there last champions league game they didn’t impress me because they should have qualified automatically to round 16 without playing playoffs.

Real Madrid is a team that dominates the league and has done so for many years, but considering that this year the thing is different, it seems that there is a much more competitive Barcelona than the other times even if they have more or less been in line with each other.

[Minor Miner]

I agree with you that he may be eyeing the real madrid job, that's why he is doing everything possible not to disrespect the club, and his current statement about this upcoming tie between benfica and real madrid says it all, but I don't think that it's going to happen, though not impossible, but it's very much unlikely, since Perez wouldn't understand that the team needs an experience manager as we are looking at it, or he may have some other things in mind. But if they still lose to this benfica team and eventually crash out of the competition, their is no way Arbeloa their current head coach wouldn't be sacked.

Arbeloa is not a permanent manager of Madrid. He is an interim manager. Real Madrid are looking for an experienced coach. Arbeloa will take charge until an experienced coach is found.

Madrid lost badly in the last match of the first round against Benfica. And they will not face Benfica again in the play-offs. The most important thing is that Benfica's manager is Mourinho. Winning against Mourinho will not be easy for Madrid. Also, after beating Madrid 4-2 a few days ago, Benfica's players will naturally be confident. So qualifying for the round of 16 will not be easy for Madrid at all.

[moneystery]

It can be said that Real Madrid's performance was so bad that Benfica was able to beat them... but it was also thanks to Mourinho who was able to set the best strategy for Benfica, so that Benfica players were able to play that well even though the team they faced was Real Madrid which should have won this match, but unfortunately Real Madrid was not in that form and unfortunately they met Benfica who was coached by Mourinho. Real Madrid needs to learn a lot from this mistake because this defeat was so unlucky for a team as big as them.

I think Real Madrid defeat demonstrates Arbeloa inexperience as a manager, while Mourinho is already very experienced. Real Madrid started the match very well, but then they seemed to underestimate Benfica. Clearly, this defeat should be a valuable lesson for Real Madrid, as they need to perform better in the playoffs to advance to the round of 16.

Arbeloa was also a problem in Real Madrid's defeat because he was not fully experienced in managing Real Madrid, especially since the ones he managed this time were players with high egos, that could be a problem because he didn't have enough experience in managing these players. As a result, Real Madrid's game was chaotic, as each player seemed to be running without solid coordination. If Arbeloa is unable to manage the egos of Real Madrid players, I think their game will continue like this.

[dollyamo]

If Real Madrid defensive does not improve, I doubt they will go far in the Champions League this season, there is no point of scoring goals when you can?t stop your opponent from scoring goals. I hope Real Madrid get revenge on that game to qualify for the next round, because I?m not confident about Real Madrid beating any opponent this season.

Benfica have really put a lot of heart into it and I think that in these playoffs, ironically they have found themselves in front of them again, but this time I don't think there will be hope for Benfica who will certainly play to the death, but I don't think they are good enough to win a second time

[LUCKMCFLY]

For any neutral fan, this is undoubtedly the most captivating matchup of the draw. i am sure Real Madrid wants revenge so bad. But even if Real Madrid wins, Benfica is the winner for me unless the goalkeeper scores a goal  

They truly deserve all the ridicule they've received, because they played without any desire. I can't defend them because they played very badly , Without any desire, without any hunger. It's shameful. As I've said, I've been a Madridista since I was born , but the way they played was truly embarrassing. I hope they play better in the next match, I really do I don't want to be disappointed by these players.