40 Minutes on Messi: Khedira Reveals Mourinho's Tactics

Sami Khedira, the former Real Madrid player, revealed intriguing details about how Portuguese coach José Mourinho prepared for El Clásico matches against Barcelona, emphasizing that stopping Lionel Messi was central to the strategy during that time.

Khedira said in a documentary about Mourinho's career: "Preparing for El Clásico was somewhat funny. We would talk for just two minutes about Barcelona, then spend a full 40 minutes discussing Lionel Messi."

The former Real Madrid player explained that Mourinho paid attention to the smallest details, and he was not hesitant to change players' positions and roles according to the nature of the match, adding: "Sometimes Pepe would play in the number 6 position, and sometimes Sergio Ramos."

Khedira added: "It wasn't just about stopping Barcelona, but the most important thing for us was to stop Messi."

He concluded by affirming that Mourinho did not approach El Clasico merely as a match against Barcelona, but rather built the entire plan around how to limit Messi's danger, who was the biggest threat to Real Madrid at that time.