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Real Madrid needs a ringleader not a head coach

David Nugent in Editorial, English Premier League 5 Jan 2016

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Could this be the next Real Madrid boss?

Could this be the next Real Madrid boss?

Real Madrid’s sacking of former-Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez yesterday summed up the Spanish giants perfectly.

Los Blancos decided to give the job to French legend Zinedine Zidane on a temporary job.

Benitez was sacked on the back of a 2-2 draw against Gary Neville’s Valencia on Saturday, that left Real four points behind arch-rivals and league leaders Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

The club from the capital don’t need a head coach. They need a ringleader because they have become one of the world’s biggest circuses. They would certainly give Billy Smart a run for his money in the circus stakes that’s for sure.

The last few decades have turned one of the world’s most historic and successful clubs into a laugh stock.

Rafa not the gaffer for Real Madrid

I have said it a millions time both offline and on my editorial that Rafa Benitez was never the right man for the Real Madrid job. His style of football never fit in with the attacking style of play that the Madridista’s expect.

He was never going to produce a fantastic style of football in the Spanish capital. However, he is a very likeable guy by all accounts and a number of the Real players are reported to be upset and annoyed by Rafa’s exit.

Why Benitez ever thought it was a good idea to take the Real job is beyond me. He was born in Madrid, so maybe the lure of heading home and managing Los Blancos was too much. He would have been well aware of the revolving door for bosses at one of Europe’s biggest clubs when it comes to bosses though.

The former-Liverpool boss deserves sympathy. Real Madrid knew what sort of boss they were hiring and there was always a feeling that he never really got the full backing of the Real Madrid hierarchy.

He was just filling the hot seat until a more glamourous boss came along, unfortunately for Real they have ran out of high-profile bosses to sack. The temporary rookie replacement Zidane was the only viable replacement available.

Real are still in the race for La Liga and Los Blancos are odds of 9/2 to be crowned Spanish champions at the end of the season, but Zidane has his work cut-out to claim the title.

Running out of options

Real Madrid looks to be running out of managerial options, as they have had unlucky 13 bosses since 1999. The likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti have already achieved varying degrees of success and been sacked for their efforts. The pair are arguably two of the best bosses European football has ever seen.

Two of the other most highly-rated bosses in the European game Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone look highly unlikely to ever consider taking the job.

Guardiola is a staunch Catalan and managed Real Madrid’s bitter-rivals Barcelona to one of the most successful spells in the history of the Spanish and European game.

Simeone has become a hero of Real’s city rivals Atletico over the past five years, in doing so established a reputation as one of the brightest young bosses in the game. The 45-year-old seems to love Atleti, so a move to their rivals would seem like insanity.

Zidane is a rookie boss, but he has a chance to prove himself in senior football for the rest of the campaign. The Frenchman was a fantastic player, but his experience with the Real junior teams has yet to prove conclusion that he has what it takes to manage at the elite level.

We have to talk about Carlo

Los Blancos hierarchy have made some questionable decisions in real years. For me sacking Italian boss Carlo Ancelotti was one of their worst. The former-AC Milan boss delivered La Decima, yet was still sacked because Real finished third in La Liga.

Considering the clubs obsession with securing La Decima, the fact that Los Blancos finished third in the table should have been completely disregarded. However this is Real Madrid, who routinely sack successful bosses and does not seem to consider continuity as a viable option.

The exit of Ancelotti showed that no boss is safe at Real, especially one that was not a particular popular appointment like Benitez.

Zidane will have to do something exceptional to get appointed on a permanent basis, as much more experienced bosses have been dismissed for perceived failure. I have a feeling that Billy Smart’s circus; I mean Real Madrid will be looking for their next former-boss in the summer.

Who should be Real Madrid’s next permanent boss?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Nugent


David is a freelance football writer with nearly a decade of experience writing about the beautiful game. The experienced writer has written for over a dozen websites and also an international soccer magazine offline.
Arguably his best work has come as an editorial writer for Soccernews, sharing his good, bad and ugly opinions on the world’s favourite sport. During David’s writing career he has written editorials, betting previews, match previews, banter, news and opinion pieces.

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