Why Real Madrid don’t seem to have Antonio Conte at the top of their list

Real Madrid are reportedly looking at three names to replace Zinedine Zidane as their manager. Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte are the two experienced managers who could take the position, while Castilla’s Raul is the top internal candidate. Christophe Galtier is another name who has surfaced recently, but there is little to suggest that Real is on track to hire the former Lille manager.

Most fans are currently debating between Pochettino and Conte, as a “splash” hire may be Florentino Perez’s preference. Reportedly, Pochettino is the top option in Valdebebas, and rumors linking Real to the former Spurs manager are nothing new. Even before Zidane stepped down, Pochettino rumors were not infrequent.

According to the latest report from Marco Ruiz of AS, Real Madrid seem to be between Mauricio Pochettino and Raul as their top two coaching candidates. That’s interesting, because Poch is still under contract with PSG. It’s pretty clear that Real won’t try to go behind PSG’s back to steal away Poch. They can’t afford to either, considering they must be on the Ligue 1 club’s “good side” in order to sign Kylian Mbappe.

But Poch appears to be a favorite. Why not Conte, though? Why isn’t Antonio Conte said to be in a three-man race?

Antonio Conte may no longer be one of the top candidates at Real Madrid

AS reports that Conte has “lost a lot of” ground in the search in comparison to the others. And the reasoning is familiar, since it has been used by detractors of Conte within the fanbase. Apparently, there is concern within the club about Conte’s managerial style. Real Madrid feel his “methods” are too “abrupt” for the club.

One of the big questions with Conte is how he would co-exist with Florentino Perez and fit the Real Madrid environment, as Conte is a man who wants authority and full respect. And his definition of respect seems a little different from what the brass in Valdebebas believes is required from the board and president towards the manager.

So for now, it may be that Pochettino is the dream option, and Raul is the fallback candidate if PSG do not relent on Poch’s reported request to leave, presumably for Los Merengues.

Raul would not be a bad hire by any means. In some ways, he could be the best hire, depending on how much room Real Madrid would give him to grow. That’s a big “if”, of course.

It seems, though, that Real would prefer that risk to the risk of Antonio Conte not fitting the culture. Sometimes, Conte leaves a club in a bit of a lurch, and Real may fear the possibility of a blow-up at the end of the season, even if the short-term gains could be excellent.