Jose Mourinho to return for El Clasico as pundit with beIN SPORTS

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Jose Mourinho, former manager of La Liga's Real Madrid, was again related to the Spanish club as Qatar's sports broadcaster beIN SPORTS invited him to work as a pundit for the coverage of "El Clasico," the game between Real Madrid and Barcelona on March 2 at the Bernabeu.

Since Premier League's Manchester United fired him last December, Mourinho had not coached any other team, but he worked as a soccer commentator for several times. On January 17, he covered the group stage game between Qatar and Saudi Arabia at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and two days later, "The Special One" commentated on the Premier League game between Arsenal and Chelsea, both for beIN SPORTS.

Cristiano Ronaldo (L), manager Jose Mourinho (C) and Iker Casillas (R) of Real Madrid pose with their trophies during their flight back after the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2010, January 10, 2011. /VCG photo

Neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona was a stranger to Mourinho. The Portuguese manager coached the former from 2010 to 2013 and spent half of his managerial career competing with the latter. Mourinho's time with Real Madrid was a mixed reception but his time with Barcelona was simple - Camp Nou hated him. Some Barcelona fans still referred Mourinho as "that translator" because he used to work as translator and assistant coach for Barcelona before becoming a manager.

The game on March 2 will be Round 4 of El Clasico in the 2018-19 season. The first time the two teams met happened on October 28 when Barcelona claimed a big 5-1 victory at home, which also cost Julen Lopetegui's job as Real Madrid's manager. Round 2 also took place at the Camp Nou on February 6 for Game 1 of the semi-finals of the 2018–19 Copa del Rey. Real Madrid managed to leave with a 1-1 draw.

Victor Valdes #1 of Barcelona grapples with Jose Mourinho (C) of Inter Milan after the Round 2 of the semi-finals at the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League at the Camp Nou, April 28, 2010. /VCG Photo

Round 3 will be Game 2 of the semi-finals on February 27 when Real Madrid return to Bernabeu to face Barcelona before doing it again for Round 4 on March 2 for the 2018-19 La Liga season.

The coming two games could decide whether Real Madrid can accomplish anything in domestic competitions. Currently, they are No.3 on the rankings table of La Liga, nine points away from Barcelona. With only 14 games to go, Real Madrid has no other option but to win on March 2, to remain hopeful of catching up. Their situation looks better in the Copa del Rey since the 1-1 draw in the away game brought Real Madrid a valuable away goal, giving them an advantage at home.