A media scrum descended on the Real Madrid bench a minute into the side's game with Osasuna, Saturday.
Jose Mourinho tried to make the brief walk from the tunnel as innocuous as possible, but was naturally foiled by a baying group of photographers.
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Chaos descended, provoking the match referee to stop play and intervene among all the flashing lights.
The Portuguese coach looked unperturbed by all the attention—he expects it.
He then sat huddled on the bench, stony-faced for the full 90 minutes as his team dispatched with Osasuna 4-2 in an end-to-end struggle.
At the final whistle, he emerged to bid farewell to the Real Ultras at one end of the Santiago Bernabeu.
He received a polite response from a crowd torn over whether to celebrate or scorn the departing manager.
There were some boos, some cheers. Many in the stadium had already gone home by the final whistle.
There will be no parade for Jose, no stand named in his honour or statue erected outside the stadium.
Yet his legacy at Real will be a positive one. He won the league last year, breaking the dominance of a Barcelona side widely regarded as one of the best in history.
His pregame message, published on the club's official website, read:
I wish all of Real Madrid's supporters much happiness in the future. I want to thank many fans for their support, and I respect the criticism of others.I repeat, happiness to all, and above all, good health. Hala Madrid!
He may have an unshakable passion for conflict, but he is a sentimentalist at heart.Mourinho has a problem with authority, but he craves the love of the fans.
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He has spent an exhausting three years at the Bernabeu, feuding with club officials and struggling to meet lofty expectations.
Former Real player Manolo Sanchisonce said of Real: "It’s a very demanding club. It is very hard to live for a long time with a club as complicated as Real Madrid" (viaDaily Mail).
"It is a machine so big, so powerful and so merciless that sometimes in its way it often ends up trampling an occasional life."