Real Madrid are officially looking for a new manager. Word first broke from Fabrizio Romano last night that Zinedine Zidane would be leaving the club. And the rumors have become a reality on Thursday, as the club announced the legend’s departure.
To make matters more complicated for Los Blancos, the rumored top replacement for Zidane is off the table, as Max Allegri has agreed to replace Andrea Pirlo at Juventus. And now the field of candidates is wide open, though some of the top names are actively being recruited elsewhere.
Let’s rank the top managers linked to the Real Madrid job from fourth to first, eschewing names like Xabi Alonso who are potentially on the radar but not as concretely linked to the position.
4. Joachim Low
The worst option is clearly Joachim Low, and he is the only manager who does not qualify as a “good” option for Real Madrid.
I want to quickly dispel something. Low is not a bad manager. I don’t want to join the hivemind of people memeing Low, because he’s actually accomplished a lot at the German national team and does get blamed for issues that go well beyond the manager. There are serious sources of dysfunction within the DFB that they, as an institution, needed to acknowledge after the failure of the 2018 World Cup.
Nevertheless, the issue with Low is that his tactical ideas are not innovative enough for a club that wants a “Revolution”. More to the point, when has Low achieved success at the club level? To my knowledge, it’s never happened, and certainly not at a club of Real’s stature. And a Revolution is ambitious. Does Low have the chops to mold young talent and make the right transfer suggestions? I have high doubts.
3. Mauricio Pochettino
To me, Mauricio Pochettino is a good manager but an overrated one. He had some great moments at Tottenham, and a reunion could be on the cards if Spurs agree to freshen things up this time and not undermine the manager through Daniel Levy’s bizarre transfer dealings.
At Real Madrid, I have serious questions about Pochettino after watching him at PSG this season. The Parisians were demonstrably worse when they went from Thomas Tuchel to Pochettino, and I think Real Madrid players would have a tough time buying into a manager who demands a lot from them physically but has little credibility compared to the coaches they are used to working with. Pochettino could be a 2018-2019 repeat or a 2020-2021 second-half replica of what happened at PSG.
It was alarming watching how PSG lost their heads and played so passively to start the second half against Manchester City. Pochettino was embarrassed by a revenge-minded Pep Guardiola, and he was even embarrassed by lower-table Ligue 1 sides because he could not solve a “back three”. Niko Kovac had a better time in Ligue 1 than Poch.
I think Poch is a great manager for a club like Spurs or Dortmund. But for a club like Real Madrid, I think he could lose the dressing room and fail to mesh his ideals with the style of football Los Blancos want. For a Revolution, though, maybe things could work with new blood, but I see Pochettino as too big of a step down from Zidane.
2. Antonio Conte
Now we come to Antonio Conte, who started getting linked to the Real Madrid job after rumors surfaced that he would leave Inter. Despite winning the Scudetto and breaking up his former club, Juve’s, run of dominance in Calcio, Conte has agreed to leave in order to avoid suffering from ownership’s poor financial management.
I bring that up, because I see people blaming Conte for “drama” at Inter. The opposite is the case. Conte should be commended for leading Inter to an amazing season through all the off-field controversy at the club. Conte has done a tremendous job of maximizing the talent there and is one of the finest managers in the world tactically. His ideas and execution are incredible.
The problem with hiring Conte is that this manager demands respect and trust to a degree that is above any other manager. Any dissent, any issues from players or executives, and he is out. He does not have time for that.
Real Madrid is a circus. If Zinedine Zidane felt disrespected by Florentino Perez leaking that he’d be fired for losing an important game, then Conte is going to be in for a world of hurt in Madrid, because this type of pressure and rumor-mongering is constant. And Perez is known for cycling through managers. The fans are relentless as well.
Conte would still be a great hire, just because he’s the best manager available in terms of his acumen and accomplishments. It’s just that if you hire him, be prepared for another shakeup in the future. Though Real may not mind that, since the No. 1 candidate is also someone who could succeed him.
1. Raul
After being linked to the Eintracht Frankfurt job, it seemed like Raul could move away from Real Madrid before the club could even begin their own search to replace Zinedine Zidane when the Zizou rumors were initially just a “What if?”
However, Frankfurt have chosen Wolfsburg’s Oliver Glasner to replace the Gladbach-bound Adi Hutter. Therefore, Raul is still fully available.
Just as I did before Max Allegri joined Juventus, I still have Raul at the top of my list of managers for Real Madrid. I really like the idea of Real promoting from within and starting their Revolution with a guy who has worked with some of the young talent in the squad and has shown he can successfully work with that talent.
Raul’s knowledge of the game and leadership are immense. In some ways, he is an ideal replacement for Zidane in terms of his man-management, and there’s always the possibility he is even better than Zizou tactically.
Of course, it could be more likely that he is worse, given Zidane’s accomplishments of a three-peat Champions League and multiple LaLiga title triumphs are not matched by anyone else available.
Still, Raul is a risk worth taking. He has the personality to fit the club, he knows the club, and he has new ideas that can boost Los Blancos in the future. I’m sticking with him as my top guy and going with my gut.