The future of Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is the big news story in La Liga this week.
International breaks are often a time for reflection, and the bosses at the Santiago Bernabeu have said they won’t stand in Ancelotti’s way if he wants to leave the club before his contract expires in 2024.
Los Blancos’ La Liga 2023 results have not been up to scratch, particularly in comparison with El Clasico rivals Barcelona, who have opened up a 12-point lead at the top of the table after beating Real Madrid just before the break.
The La Liga 2023 betting odds have all but handed the 2023 title to the Blaugrana, but Los Blancos are still in the Copa del Rey, though, with a first-leg deficit to make up (against Barca).
They are also through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and club president Florentino Perez has asked Ancelotti to deliver a trophy this season.
Whether he succeeds or not, what happens next is anybody’s guess.
Reports from the Spanish media say that Ancelotti has an excellent relationship with the club’s owners but they will allow him to leave if he so wishes at the end of the campaign.
And following the departure of Tite as Brazil head coach, the Madrid boss was immediately linked with that job. He is the Selecao’s number one candidate and some of their players have expressed excitement at the prospect of an appointment of the Italian legend.
He already works with Brazil players Eder Militao, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo and is big mates with former Real Madrid enforcer Casemiro.
This story could well gather serious momentum in the coming weeks so, if Ancelotti is on the way, who is best placed to step in?
Raul
One name that Los Blancos fans would like to see in the hat is club icon Raul, the striker who scored 228 goals in 15 glittering seasons for Real Madrid between 1994 and 2010.
He also scored 44 goals for Spain, who he captained, and has been working at the Santiago Bernabeu since 2018 as a youth coach and B Team manager.
Raul is yet to manage a big club, but he is Los Blancos through and through and he knows the club inside out. He’d be a popular choice.
Zinedine Zidane
Of course Real Madrid have been down that path before, appointing a playing legend who was coaching at the club and without managerial experience anywhere else.
And the promotion of Zidane in 2016 turned out to be a masterstroke, as he promptly went on to lead the team to three consecutive Champions League titles, the first coach to achieve that feat.
He resigned in 2018, but Zidane returned a year later, winning another La Liga title and Supercopa de Espana and then he made way for Ancelotti in 2021.
Could Zizou make another return? Well, he’s available and I wouldn’t rule it out.
Julian Nagelsmann
He’s widely thought to be one of the best young managers in the world, but Bayern Munich have just sacked the 35-year-old Nagelsmann while he was on a skiing holiday during the international break, appointing Thomas Tuchel as his successor.
Die Bayern sit just a point behind Borussia Dortmund in the league and have Der Klassiker and a Champions League tie with Manchester City on the horizon. So to sack a manager with a 71.4-per cent win rate seems a little odd.
Anyhow, Nagelsmann has the profile and style to fit in at the Santiago Bernebeu and, while he has been linked with a move to Tottenham, I suspect he’ll bide his time and wait for the bigger job.
Antonio Conte
Yesterday here at SBOTOP, we talked about the departure of Conte from Tottenham Hotspur after a fiery outburst signalled the end of his turbulent 16-month reign with the Whites.
Conte is a born winner with a string of Serie A titles as a player and manager with Juventus and has also led Chelsea and Inter Milan to league titles in recent years.
Conte is box office material and always worth listening to, but would Los Blancos fans welcome his pragmatic style?
Didier Deschamps
Currently, manager of France where he has been in the hot seat since 2012, could it be time for a new challenge for Deschamps? He led his nation to the World Championship in 2018 and Les Bleus have made a fast start to their Euro 2024 qualification campaign
But at 54 years of age, Deschamps is in the prime of his managerial career and he certainly has the nous and profile to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world.
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