A slap which could prove decisive at this stage of the season. On the pitch of Atlético Madrid this Sunday, Real Madrid was swept away during a Madrid derby completely missed by the White House (3-1). At the end of the meeting, a man was criticized following this disturbing rout: Carlo Ancelotti. Legend of the club from the Iberian capital with whom he won two Champions Leagues (2014, 2022), the Italian coach is having more difficulty this season with a less armed squad than in previous seasons while he will leave Real at the end of season to become Brazil coach.
While the Madrid management has failed to replace Karim Benzema effectively, the residents of Santiago Bernabeu are sorely lacking a striker worthy of the name. While Jude Bellingham brilliantly assumed this goalscoring role at the start of the season, the English midfielder cannot represent a viable option in the future. Despite this, the former AC Milan and PSG coach continues to field him in a two-man attack also made up of Rodrygo. With this tactical mix, Ancelotti is preparing to spend a complicated last year in the capital.
Xabi Alonso is the chosen one
But while his departure has already been confirmed from the Spanish capital, Florentino Perez and his teams have been working for several weeks to find a replacement. And while there is no shortage of free high-level coaches on the market currently, the Madrid board is looking down on Xabi Alonso according to information from Radio Marca. “The first favorite to replace Ancelotti is Xabi Alonso to coach the team next year” effectively announces the Iberian media.
Former Real Madrid midfielder between 2009 and 2014, Alonso is now the coach of Bayer Leverkusen. The Spaniard, who arrived in October 2022 on the BayArena bench, allowed his team to become one of the most attractive teams across the Rhine. Currently second in the Bundesliga, the B04 is Bayern Munich’s main competitor this season. While his contract expires in 2026 in Leverkusen, the 2010 world champion could not be indifferent to the sirens of Madrid. As a reminder, he played under Carlo Ancelotti in the Spanish capital and notably won the Champions League in 2014 under the 64-year-old coach.
