Sport

Ancelotti a tough act to follow at Real Madrid

For the past year, Carlo Ancelotti’s future at Real Madrid has been an open secret. The Italian has been expected to depart the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is the man in the frame to replace him.

Ancelotti’s second exit will be much less acrimonious than the first. He returned to the club in the summer of 2021, six years after being sacked. At that time, it felt harsh, a decision made simply because he was judged to have under performed after Barcelona won the treble. Just a year earlier, he had ended a 12-year wait for a Champions League title, securing the fabled ‘La Decima’ (the tenth). At any other club that would have put huge credit in the bank, but Madrid is like nowhere else; winning, and winning well, is the only option. But there was no contingency plan; Rafael Benitez was chosen as his successor but was sacked just months later. Zinedine Zidane took the reigns and, across two spells himself, brought new levels of success.

Ancelotti returned when Zidane left a second time and there was a slightly greater understanding of the remit. The club was in the midst of a transition, adapting its transfer policy to be more sustainable, signing younger players who would develop into major stars, and pouncing on others with contracts running down. While there was still a desire to win, there was an acceptance that perhaps it would take time. But adaptation and creating a positive culture is Ancelotti’s main strength; one league title and two more Champions Leagues have followed. Madrid remain the undisputed football kings.

With this new, longer-term vision, succession planning is key. Regardless of what happened this season, Ancelotti is expected to leave, with the Brazil job said to be waiting for him. Lagging behind Barcelona in La Liga and a 5-2 aggregate Champions League quarter-final exit to Arsenal have hastened the desire for change from sections of the fanbase, but whatever happens, Ancelotti deserves a respectful departure.

This season has been a tough one to balance in terms of his squad; Kylian Mbappe joining on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain has created a problem with no obvious solution; he is best from the left wing, where Vinicius Junior has developed into one of the best players in the world, and he has often been shunted into the central striker role. Goals haven’t been an issue – he’s scored 31 in all competitions – but there has been an obvious lack of fluency in attack.

The emergence of Alonso as the next big star of European coaching after his work at Bayer Leverkusen offers a readymade contingency; the former Madrid and Spain midfielder has always been an intelligent student of football, but proved himself in the most spectacular way by winning their first ever Bundesliga title without losing and coming within a whisker of an unbeaten treble. Atalanta’s Europa League victory was a cruel blow, but didn’t dampen the growing interest in Alonso’s situation. It has long been understood that the Spaniard has a gentleman’s agreement with Leverkusen to let him leave for a club he played for. They include Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid; the latter two were both looking for a coach last summer and he didn’t move, pointing to one ultimate destination.

Other options aren’t particularly strong. Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola has been linked, and he has undoubtedly got a huge future ahead, but it would be a huge demand to undertake that leap in expectation level. Jurgen Klopp, former Liverpool manager and Red Bull’s Head of Soccer, is also said to be a target; nobody has a more suitable CV than him, but it would be difficult to persuade him to leave his current role just four months after taking it. Alonso, as a former player, understands the pressure and expectation; it feels like the best fit. But he’ll have to adapt; in Germany, he has created a good environment. Tactically, he is adaptable; his team presses high and dominates the ball, but can play with a number of different systems. But he’ll still face the Mbappe issue and the challenge of managing a big squad full of elite egos.

Ancelotti looks like he will leave Real Madrid in a few weeks and Alonso is set to arrive. But the Italian has already been taken for granted once; he’s taken that club in his stride in a way few others can and he will certainly be a tough act to follow.