One of the secrets of successful managers is the quality of the staff around them. Elite football in 2026 is analysed and dissected down to the smallest detail, demanding far more preparation than it did only a few years ago. For a details man who cannot stand the element of variance in the game, the demands are greater still. Mourinho is therefore always looking for assistants, and he has often found the best of them among his former players. Sami Khedira could be the latest to emerge from that orbit.
The friendly against Fiorentina a few days ago marked the former Germany midfielder’s first public appearance in his new role on the Special One’s staff. For much of the warm-up, Khedira was running the session: giving instructions, raising the tempo, setting the tone. “He conveys Mou’s message very well,” Spanish newspaper Marca reported, citing sources at Valdebebas, Madrid’s training ground. He is not there simply to bridge the gap between the manager and the dressing room. His remit is broader than that. Over the past few years, Khedira has become increasingly convinced that leadership is central to modern football, and that it has to be exercised at every level, on and off the pitch. As a player, he was an authoritative presence in the dressing room, though never the loudest voice. Now he is more assured, more vocal, more inclined to step in. In Klagenfurt, he was already giving Arda Güler and Eduardo Camavinga instructions during the warm-up.
Over the past five years, he has also sharpened his ability to work with and communicate to groups of people. Players, naturally — one of the reasons Mourinho wanted him alongside him — but audiences as well. Khedira joined ESPN’s punditry team for the 2021 European Championship, and his progression has been clear since then. He has worked with other broadcasters, earning a reputation for the quality of his reading of the game and for a measured style that does not depend on the latest soundbite. He could even offer Mourinho another option in front of the cameras if needed, much as Aitor Karanka did during the Portuguese manager’s previous spell in Madrid.
Apparently, one phone call from Mou was enough to tempt Khedira away from the headphones and microphone, at least for a while. Mourinho values the former midfielder’s serious, thoughtful and analytical character. Khedira was one of his trusted players at the Bernabéu; now he is part of the staff. In 2022, the former Juventus midfielder completed the UEFA Executive Master for international former players, a two-year programme centred on leadership and coaching, alongside other former figures from European football including Nemanja Vidić, Frenkie de Jong and Verónica Boquete. Now comes the chance to put all of that to work at the biggest club in the world. Real Madrid need leaders, on and off the pitch, after a difficult season. Khedira is back at Valdebebas, years after his last appearance as a Merengue, but this time with a different job. He is no longer just a voice in the dressing room. He has been brought back to help lead it towards the one thing that has always mattered most: winning.