Only one player is still at Real Madrid from Jose Mourinho’s turbulent tenure from 2010 to 2013, but he didn’t even played under him.
Following Luka Modric’s summer departure, Dani Carvajal is the only remaining player from that period, and it may be an awkward encounter when Mourinho‘s Benfica face Los Blancos.
AS recall that in December 2011 Mourinho wanted to call Carvajal up to the first team in the Copa del Rey and told Castilla coach Alberto Toril to only play him for an hour in the B-team match beforehand.
However, Castilla went down to ten men, and Carvajal played 90 minutes, something that ‘infuriated’ Mourinho who ‘lost all interest’ in the right-back.
Carvajal was then sent on loan to Bayer Leverkusen where he was named in the Bundesliga XI of the season.
“I left (for Leverkusen) without having made my debut with the first team,” he recalled.
“For me it was something sad. I saw Sarabia, Morata, Álex, Nacho… They had all made their debuts.
“They had had their opportunity. And I hadn’t. It was sad after ten years at Madrid, not to have had a single minute.”
“I wondered if renewing my contract and staying with Castilla would get me playing time, but Ginés [his agent] was very clear.
“He told me: ‘You’re not going to get opportunities. It’s a reality, and you have to accept it.’
“I was afraid to leave. But I said I wanted to be a first-team player and that if I had to go out and prove myself, I would.”
Carvajal did prove himself, winning six Champions League titles upon returning to Madrid where Mourinho is now a relic of the past ahead of a Champions League visit with Benfica.
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