Jose Mourinho’s Full Record in El Clasico as Real Madrid Manager

Barcelona have been one of José Mourinho’s most regular adversaries during his illustrious managerial career.

Only Liverpool have been more frequent opponents for the wily Portuguese coach, who was formerly on the books at Camp Nou as an aspiring manager. The majority of his previous battles with the Catalan giants he once also worked for have come in one of soccer’s grandest games: El Clásico.

During his original three-year stint with Real Madrid, he simply couldn’t escape Barcelona as the Spanish behemoths fought for supremacy on the domestic and continental stage.

Ahead of his return to the dugout for the upcoming Clásico, here’s Mourinho’s full record in the fixture.

2010–11 Season

Things started disastrously for Mourinho in El Clásico. As he ventured to Catalonia with his star-studded Real Madrid squad for the first time, few expected Los Blancos to be departing with their tails between their legs following a humiliating 5–0 defeat in La Liga—the club’s joint-heaviest loss margin in the fixture since the end of World War II.

Barça’s fearsome forward trio completely annihilated their visitors, with Pedro scoring the second goal of the match and David Villa then adding two more after the break courtesy of Lionel Messi assists. Either side of those strikes, Xavi and Jeffrén were on the scoresheet, with the latter compounding Madrid’s misery in stoppage time shortly before an inevitable Sergio Ramos red card.

Los Blancos endured mixed results during their four subsequent fixtures against Barcelona later that season—all of which took place over the course of a three-week period.

The sides would stage a stalemate at the Bernabéu in the reverse fixture in La Liga, a result which helped Barça to the title despite Madrid scoring 102 goals across the league season. They would, however, get some revenge in the Copa del Rey final.

A fiercely competitive occasion was goalless come the end of regulation time, but Cristiano Ronaldo provided the all-important winner in the 103rd minute. The decisive strike earned Mourinho his first of three pieces of silverware in Spain’s capital, but the bragging rights would soon return to Barcelona.

There were two Clásicos to be played in a Champions League semifinal and they finished in Barça’s favor. Madrid’s 2–0 defeat on home soil in the first leg meant they needed a miracle to reach the final, and their 1–1 draw at Camp Nou the following week was not enough to turn the tie around.

In the end, Barcelona beat Manchester United in the Champions League final, leaving Mourinho and his players in agony after being bested in Madrid’s favorite tournament.

2011–12 Season

The 2011–12 campaign kicked off with two Clásico meetings. On this occasion, the Supercopa de España would force them together, with the victor determined across two legs—one at the Bernabéu and the other at Camp Nou.

There was nothing to separate Mourinho and nemesis Pep Guardiola during the first match in Madrid, with Xabi Alonso’s second-half equalizer the final major act of a 2–2 draw. The second leg was decided by more Messi magic, though, with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner assisting and then scoring twice—including an 88th-minute winner—to secure Barcelona’s 3–2 victory and 5–4 aggregate triumph.

The next three matches also went in Barça’s favor, beginning with a 3–1 win for them at the Bernabéu in La Liga. Despite Karim Benzema’s opener in the first minute, goals from Alexis Sánchez, Xavi and Cesc Fàbregas completed a dramatic turnaround to clinch an early Christmas present.

Mourinho again succumbed to Guardiola’s tiki-taka brilliance in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals at the beginning of 2012. Barcelona won at the Bernabéu during the first leg courtesy of unlikely strikes from Carles Puyol and Éric Abidal, before edging the aggregate score with a 2–2 draw on their own turf.

Following heartbreak in the copa, Mourinho had only won one of his first 10 Clásicos, but he was immensely grateful to triumph during his 11th. In only the fourth-last match of the La Liga season and with the title race still alive, Madrid secured a crucial 2–1 victory at Camp Nou which effectively won them the crown.

Ronaldo scored the winning goal after halftime as Madrid inched toward their second trophy under Mourinho. They eventually reached a century of points, scored 121 goals and managed 32 victories—all of which were La Liga records at the time.

2012–13 Season

Mourinho’s final season of his first spell with Madrid was much more positive—well, Clásico-wise, at least. While the first showdown ended in a 3–2 defeat in the Supercopa de España first leg at Camp Nou, his side’s 2–1 win in the reverse fixture granted them he trophy via the away goals rule.

The opening La Liga Clásico was a case of Ronaldo vs. Messi. Both players scored a brace during the 2–2 draw in Catalonia on Matchday 7, and there was nothing to divide the foes when they collided the following January in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal.

Madrid hosted the first leg and were reliant on a late equalizer from Raphaël Varane to avoid defeat, the defender’s header canceling out Fàbregas’s strike shortly after halftime. The Frenchman once again netted in the second leg as Madrid roared into the final.

Ronaldo had scored twice at Camp Nou prior to Varane’s tie-clinching third, with Jordi Alba’s 87th-minute effort nothing more than a consolation. However, despite conquering Barça in the final four, Los Blancos proceeded to lose the final to their other rivals, Atlético Madrid, in extra time.

Barcelona eventually snatched the La Liga title off of Madrid, too, but Mourinho’s men did win the battle between the teams in early March. Benzema and Ramos were on the scoresheet either side of Messi in what would be Mourinho’s final Clásico for 13 years.

Every José Mourinho Result vs. Barcelona in El Clásico

José Mourinho’s Full Record vs. Barcelona in El Clásico

• Games played: 17
• Real Madrid wins: 5
• Draws: 6
• Barcelona wins: 6
• Goals scored: 25
• Goals conceded: 31