According to Marca, Real Madrid will train at Valdebebas before traveling to Rome, readopting the methods introduced by the Portuguese coach, and this is set to become standard practice for the rest of the season.

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Real Madrid will head to Rome with preparations completed at Valdebebas. Before Tuesday's away match in the Italian capital, Real Madrid will follow a custom left behind by Mourinho. Contrary to the usual practice for away teams in the Champions League to travel to the opponent's home ground the night before the match for training, the Blancos will not train at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. Instead, they will train at Valdebebas, then fly out at 3 PM and arrive in Rome at 5:15 PM.

Training at the match venue is almost a tradition in European football, but Mourinho was the first in Real Madrid's history to break this norm. During his first spell as Real Madrid coach from 2010 to 2013, the Portuguese chose to prepare for away matches at the training ground. Local media at the time believed this decision was made to keep tactical arrangements secret and prevent opponents from learning any details.

However, Mourinho himself did not always adhere strictly to this principle. Last season, when coaching Benfica, he opted to train at the opponent's stadium before away matches against Real Madrid and Chelsea. That was also the Portuguese coach's first time stepping onto the renovated Bernabéu pitch in 13 years, although he was suspended and unable to manage the match the following day. For the remaining European away games, Benfica prepared at their training ground in Seixal, continuing the philosophy he is now readopting in Madrid.

After Mourinho, this practice faded for a while. Zidane and Ancelotti both preferred to train at the opponent's home ground the night before the match, maintaining the traditional rhythm. Last season, Xabi Alonso was the first to revert to Mourinho's method, with Real Madrid returning to this arrangement before their trip to Anfield and subsequently continuing it for other away matches. He had the team train at Valdebebas at 11 AM and then travel to Liverpool in the afternoon, with the team heading directly to the hotel. Only the head coach and one player would go to Anfield for the pre-match press conference.

However, this attempt did not truly take root. After Arbeloa took over as coach, he abandoned this idea and brought Real Madrid back to the tradition of training at the opponent's home ground before matches. This was confirmed when the team played their first away European match at Estádio da Luz. Now, with Mourinho's return to Real Madrid, closed-door preparations are being reimplemented, and it appears this will not be a one-off arrangement. This practice is expected to become the norm for every remaining European away match this season.

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