Capello weighs in on Madrid´s Benitez

Fabio Capello said he was unsurprised by the turmoil at former club Real Madrid, suggesting it is hard to understand from the outside looking in.

Capello coached Real Madrid in two separate spells, first in 1996-97 when he won La Liga, and again from 2006-2007 when he captured a second league title in as many seasons at the club.

Still, his success was not enough to grant him a second consecutive season in either spell, with his style of play often deemed unattractive by Madrid fans despite the results achieved.

“You need to understand what happened. It is difficult to speak unless you know what happened inside the team and the club,” Capello told Omnisport.

“I prefer not to speak about this but it is clear they have difficulties at the moment.”

Capello said it would be interesting to see how the coaching dramas unfolded at Real Madrid this season, with Rafael Benitez proving hugely unpopular with Madrid fans as the club sit in third position in La Liga, five points adrift of bitter rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

The Italian coach said the door could be open for Zinedine Zidane to take over the reins of the club.

“All the people in Spain think the president supports him [Benitez], but it will interesting for Zidane because he manages the second team, which is very important to understand what he needs to do,” Capello said.

“It’s very different as a manager. It’s possible that he’ll be the next Real Madrid manager. I also think Rafael Benitez will finish the season.”