Despite a franchise record 96 league points, last season was one filled with disappointment and underachievement. An early exit in the Copa del Rey to 3rd division minnow Alcorcon set a foreboding tone for the season to follow. A round-of-16 Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon ended European hopes, while Barcelona’s double over Los Merengues allowed the Catalan club to outlast the capital side by three points in domestic competition. Manuel Pellegrini’s magic from Villarreal did not translate to the Bernabeu as Florentino Perez’s new Galacticos failed to raise any trophies. That was last year but, starting Sunday at Mallorca, a new prospect of glory now lies in front of Real Madrid.

Armed with a plethora of World Cup standouts and established manager Jose Mourinho, Los Blancos will mount a difficult campaign to not only dethrone champions Barcelona but reestablish European relevance. Early reports from Marca report that “The Special One” will utilize a 4-2-3-1 to accomplish the intricate task of leveraging the talent available with the multitude of competitions in which Madrid will compete this year. Defining a starting XI, as well as formation, is a loaded prospect with the plethora of players and competitions, requiring the delegation of different players depending on the scenario; however, according to Spanish press, the ‘ideal’ XI would look like this:

Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Marcelo, Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Ronaldo, Ozil, Di Maria and Higuain.

Khedira and Alonso playing defensive midfield with Di Maria in the middle and Ozil and Ronaldo wide but ‘free to roam’ in support of the lone striker. Khedira’s presence allowing Alonso a little more offensive freedom.

Again, a combination of speculation from the Spanish papers and my own assessments; however, the evident change Mourinho has already brought to the club is a new sense of a defensive presence.

Supporters of a club like Madrid, constantly involved in the transfer market, are familiar with the prospect of players coming and going; nevertheless, this year, Los Blancos bade farewell to two lifelong Madridistas: Guti and Raul. The former dedicated twenty-five years of football to the capital side club, while the latter encompassed everything that was Real Madrid football, the most capped player and leading scorer in the long, prestigious history of the club. Raul made 740 appearances, scoring 323 goals in a Real Madrid uniform. Leading Madrid to sixteen trophies, including six leagues and three Champions Leagues, Raul was Real Madrid football for the better part of the last two decades. Guti, who moves on to Besiktas in Turkey, contributed to fifteen trophies yet it seemed his career was one to always be marred with disappointment. Never appearing in the final stages of any major competition for his nation, Guti fluctuated from goal scoring, creative midfield presence to lost on the bench amidst quarrels with managers. While neither were pegged for first team action this upcoming campaign, it will be an adjustment for supports to imagine a Real Madrid without Raul or to see either of the two playing abroad. Raul will certainly be back in an administrative role when his career comes to an end; however, Real Madrid and its supporters owe a great deal of debt to two players who sacrificed and toiled throughout, perhaps, the greatest period of football in a very storied club history.

An away fixture at the weekend against last season’s surprise team, Mallorca, who were a goal out of a Champions League’s place, will kickoff what could be a very successful campaign. Mallorca, who boasted a phenomenal home record, will be playing with something to prove after a UEFA decision, based on poor finances, kept the 5th place club out of European competition all together. A fortnight later Osasuna will travel to the Bernabeu for Mourinho’s first home match as manager. Madrid travel to Barcelona the last weekend of November for the first leg of el Clasico with the return leg at the Bernabeu in mid-April. Three points separated the clubs last season so a home fixture towards the end of the campaign could prove important as Madrid chase their first league title since 2007-2008.

Will Mourinho equal his treble from Inter last season in his first at the Bernabeu? No, not quite; however, he will bring trophies to the Spanish capital. Madrid will win the league, edging out their Catalan rivals in the penultimate weekend of the season. A strong European showing will have Mourinho focused on the Champions League; using mostly youth players in the Copa del Rey, Madrid will make an early exit from the domestic cup (by no means as early or as embarrassingly as the Alcorcon debacle of a year ago). Real will make a run but not win Europe, not this year. Eliminated in the round of 16 in each of the last six seasons, advancing to the final eight would be a vast improvement; however, the only acceptable finish for Mourinho and Madrid supporters is lifting the trophy in Wembley come next May. Madrid make it to the semifinals, losing to Mourinho’s former employers Chelsea, one step away from the 2011.

Patience is a rarity in and around the Bernabeu, but Mourinho’s Madrid will ease the tensions surrounding the past few trophy-less years. Madrid made strides last season in becoming one solitary unit but, with an influx of new talent yet again, will need some time to come together before reestablishing themselves as a perennial European power.