Ranking five of the favourites to replace Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid manager
Xabi Alonso is coming under increasing pressure at Real Madrid. There is reportedly discontent in the dressing room, while just two wins from their last six outings in all competitions leave them four points behind Barcelona in the La Liga title race.
Real Madrid’s next fixture is Manchester City in the Champions League. If they lose that, some serious questions will be asked of Alonso’s immediate future in the job.
We’ve ranked five of the names who have been linked with Real Madrid, should they decide to make a change in the dugout.
1. Jurgen Klopp
The biggest name on the market right now.
Klopp looked refreshed and reenergised in his recent appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast. You get the sense that he’s enjoying life away from the training ground, but you also wonder if he’s itching to get back to what he does best.
We kind of expect Klopp to wait around and take the Germany job when it next comes up. Transitioning into the less intense world of international coaching sounds about right at this stage of his career.
But the prospect of the biggest job in football, linking back up with Trent Alexander-Arnold alongside the likes of Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe, must at least be tempting. One last big job?
2. Zinedine Zidane
We all know that Zizou will finally replace his old team-mate Didier Deschamps in the France hotseat next summer. It’s what he’s been waiting for and the worst-kept secret in football.
…But what’s stopping him taking on the Madrid job until then? One more go at the Champions League. A chance to work with Mbappe ahead of joining forces with France. It ticks a lot of boxes.
Madrid have been here before, turning to Zidane’s magic touch after dismissing Rafael Benitez and Santiago Solari in 2016 and 2019.
A stopgap solution ’til the end of the season might suit Madrid nicely, too.
The managerial market will have a totally different complexion after the World Cup, with the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann or even Thomas Tuchel potentially set to become available, while in-work coaches like Andoni Iraola or Oliver Glasner would be easier to prise away.
3. Raul
Take this one with a massive pinch of salt.
Everything had seemed to be in place for Los Blancos legend Raul to be the next Zidane or Solari, the in-house company man waiting in the wings to take the big job in the event of a crisis.
Unfortunately, Raul might’ve flubbed that chance. His work with the club’s Castilla team reportedly left a lot to be desired, with both results and performances lacking. He left the club at the end of last season.
But never say never. Raul hasn’t burned his bridges at the Bernabeu and remains one of the club’s great 21st-century icons. Youth coaching is an entirely different remit to taking charge of world-class Galacticos.
Maybe aura, status and vibes would be enough. Madrid have shown time and again they don’t necessarily need a philosopher or game-changing tactical thinker. A solid man-manager who can get the most out of their expensively assembled array of superstars might just turn things around.
4. Jose Mourinho
Yes, we’re aware that he’s only recently taken up the Benfica job. But you already wonder if he’s regretting that.
They’re eight points behind Porto in the Primeira Liga title race, while they’ve lost four of five Champions League matches, and their place in the knockout stages looks in serious doubt.
There’s a break clause in his contract next summer, but maybe it’ll suit all parties to wrap things up even sooner. Come January there might be very little to play for.
Florentino Perez has always flirted with the idea of bringing Mourinho back to the Bernabeu.
His last stint ended in acrimony (Mourinho? Acrimony? Really?) but he did lead Los Blancos to a record 100-point tally in 2011-12, ending Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona’s imperial era in the process.
You wonder if a succession of so-so jobs (Spurs, Roma, Fenerbahce) have indelibly stained Mourinho’s status as a top-level coach.
But if there was ever one club that might offer him a shot back to the big time, it’s Real Madrid. It’s easy to forget that Carlo Ancelotti was managing Everton before he returned for his victory lap.
5. Simone Inzaghi
The Italian only joined Al Hilal in the summer, immediately underlining his credentials as a top coach by leading the Saudi Pro League club to a shock victory over Manchester City at the Club World Cup.
Even Madrid might struggle to match his presumably gargantuan wage packet, but you imagine he’d listen if they came knocking.
Look at their player recruitment. Madrid have a pull that arguably no other club can match. If they decide to go for one of European football’s best coaches, you’d imagine they can make it happen.
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