Who Would Replace Carlo Ancelotti As Real Madrid Coach This Season?
Following Champions League elimination at the hands of Arsenal, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is under immense pressure. It seems inevitable that his days in charge of Los Blancos are coming to an end, but that could be sooner even than many expected.
Sky Sports claim that the Italian could even leave Real Madrid this month, following the conclusion of the Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona on April 26th, should the result not go in Real Madrid's favor.
As such, the reigning La Liga and Champions League champions would be looking for a new coach to take over. President Florentino Pérez has not appointed a new coach mid-season since 2019, when Santiago Solari was replaced by Zinedine Zidane, and was not expected to make such a decision this season either. The recent struggles of the team, eliminated from Europe and four points off the top of the La Liga table, could persuade him to change his mind.
Whoever comes in, it is unlikely that they would be a permanent replacement for Ancelotti. The favorite for that role continues to be Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso, who has shown no sign of favoring an imminent exit from Germany and could be reluctant to take over immediately before the Club World Cup this summer.
As a result, the club could instead look for a short-term fix to see the team through the end of the league campaign and through this summer's tournament. With that scenario, it is likely that Pérez would turn to one of his trusted men from within the club's existing set-up.
The current coach of Castilla, Real Madrid's B-team, Raúl knows all about the pressure of Real Madrid having captained the club for almost a decade through the 2000s as their iconic forward. He is widely expected to leave Castilla this summer in search of a first-team opportunity after a poor start to the season with a younger and weakened squad, but he has done well to stabilize their campaign and keep them in Primera RFEF, the third tier of Spanish soccer.
His appointment would be the most logical given his existing role, but it seems that the frictions between him and Pérez, dating back to his playing days, could make the promotion to the first team less likely.
A former first-team coach on a similar, interim, basis, Santiago Solari has remained at the club and not taking on any other coaching roles since his stint in charge ended in 2019. He replaced Julen Lopetegui in the disappointing 2018/19 campaign and was credited with the introduction of Vinícius Júnior into the first team for the first time, winnning a European Super Cup during his time in the role.
Solari's 32 games in charge during that run could prepare him well, having won 22 of those, while his experience coaching in Mexico with CF América could also boost his chances of helping the team in the Club World Cup.
The least likely of the three candidates could be Álvaro Arbeloa. The former right-back also played for Liverpool, Deportivo La Coruña and West Ham during his playing career, but is best remember for featuring 238 times for Real Madrid, almost all between 2009 and 2016. Now working with the club's youth teams, he caught the eye with a remarkably successful campaign last season which saw the team win the UEFA Youth League as well as dominate domestically.
Arbeloa is highly-rated within the club and is well-liked by those in charge, maintaining strong relationships with many key figures at the club ever since he took up a coaching role.
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