Mourinho returns to Racing's stadium after 15 years: everything has changed except the Barcelona flag!
Jose Mourinho returns to Santander to face Racing, revisiting a few familiar details from his last visit 15 years ago. Yet the scene awaiting him at El Sardinero has changed considerably, after sweeping sporting, administrative and supporter-related transformations swept through the club.
The "Real" hotel will greet the Portuguese coach much as he remembers it, the place Real Madrid stayed during his first spell at the helm, having previously served as Racing Santander's designated hotel. He'll enjoy that same view of the bay from his balcony once more. His tour inside the stadium, though, will reveal that most of the faces and details he once knew have gone.
El Sardinero's appearance has barely changed since 2011. Almost everything going on inside it, however, is now different, from the colourful banner overlooking the pitch, no longer surrounded by torn flags, to the lively atmosphere in the stands and the club's new ambitions.
Old encounters: memories of the Khadhira trap
Mourinho faced Racing four times during his first spell with Real Madrid, the club dropping into the second division before the Portuguese's final season. He won three of those meetings and drew the last 0-0.
Not one player from the Madrid squad that contested those matches remains in the dressing room. Sami Khedira, part of the group back then, now works within Mourinho's coaching staff.
Khedira missed Real Madrid's last trip to El Sardinero. A red card in the previous game against Levante ruled him out, an incident that helped cost his side the match and earned him a public rebuke from his coach.
"He fell into the trap and bears part of the responsibility for the defeat," Mourinho said at the time.
Sharp confrontations and controversial statements defined that period. Among them was his remark: "When Spain gets into a fight, people talk about unity, but when we do it, they describe us as bandits."
The aftermath of the Clasico: Barcelona's flag out in front!
But Mourinho returns this time off the back of an important win at the Camp Nou, part of his bid to change Real Madrid's fortunes and bring the titles back.
El Sardinero stadium has seen plenty of change over 15 years, yet one tradition endures. Racing still fly the flags of the twenty La Liga clubs atop the eastern stand, arranged by their positions in the standings.
Back in 2011, Barcelona's flag sat top of that row, and it does so again. A 6-1 thrashing of Alaves yesterday took their tally to 30 points.
