"Lots of times at Real Madrid, the players would be queuing in front of the mirror before the game while the referee waited for them in the tunnel".
This was initially interpreted as a "dig in" towards some of his ex-players were the relationship between both ended tense in his last months at the Club.
However, far from a kick in the teeth from Mourinho, it is the truth. Many times we witnessed how the opposition team went onto the field, at the beginning or after halftime, first & waited for Real Madrid to come on. Many thought it was a Jose Mourinho "mind games" tactic but in fact it was a delay because some players were "freshening up" their appearance.
In Spanish Football ( & I suppose UEFA ) there are strict rules about coming onto the field at the correct times ( I suppose due to TV contracts ) & getting on "late" leads to hefty fines for the Club. Real Madrid General Director Angel Sanchez has been said to have gone down to the dressing room to ask Mourinho to get the players onto the field earlier because the Club was receiving very heavy economical sanctions. Jose Mourinho replied I am waiting for the players to finish fixing themselves in front of the mirror.
The anecdote goes further. There is a "story" about a visiting International player after a Champions League match saying to his inner circle that he had never seen so much hair gel in one place at one Football Club.
This should all been seen & taken as normal & perhaps funny. Bear in mind that many Football players are young adults, many still single & many with huge multi-million image contracts. Perhaps the pioneer of all this was Englishman David Beckham who has supplemented his Football wage with millions & millions of dollars in image marketing. The retired Footballer still now continues to rack in the dollars with his "physical" attributes.
So if your in a dressing room & a Real Madrid footballer happens to walk by, hide your hair gel, just in case. Finally, I sure that Real Madrid is not the only Club in World Football where their players have a "mirror check" before jumping onto the field.
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