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Flawed logic shortens the odds on Rafa Benitez staying at Real Madrid. Zidane is betting favourite to be next manager

Posted on 24/11 by Joe Gann

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 It’s extremely difficult to imagine that as he sat at his unveiling as the new manager of Real Madrid in June of this year, Rafael Benitez was unaware of the erratic, merry- go -round approach of his new employers towards the men employed to manage the team.

However, even the vastly experienced Spaniard could not have predicted how badly and with such speed, the situation has degenerated.
As the magnitude of this defeat (0-4) - their first home loss in twenty three games - hit home, it became likely that Benitez’s short reign will soon be at an end.

Despite a fairly solid start to the season, before Saturday they had lost only once in fifteen matches, it will be extremely difficult to survive the ignominy of a 0-4 reversal at home. When the administers of such a humiliation are none other than hated rivals Barcelona, the embarrassment is intensified ten-fold.

A club as unique as Madrid - where the fans spoilt by decades of success, demand the best players in the world, winning every title available, playing stylish football - do not tolerate failure in any form. Unfortunately, things don’t work that way and as they try to absorb the sobering reality that they are facing the prospect of just one La Liga title in eight years, an ingrained, fundamentally flawed mentality is exposed.

The obsession of President Florentino Perez to go out and buy as many world stars as possible doesn’t tally with the ethos of team spirit. The unpalatable truth for Madridistas is that the glaring example of style, skill and brilliance that they aspire to, was evident at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, but it all came from the Blaugrana.

As a club, the decision to appoint former player Luis Enrique has been a stroke of genius. Faced with the unenviable task of breaking up the most successful team in the club’s history, he has masterminded the dawning of a glorious new era by adding the proven class of the likes of Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic to an already formidable squad.

The performance of an immaculate Andres Iniesta, now heading towards the twilight of a glittering career, emphasised the seamless transition from old to the new Barca.

The whispers of discontent emerging form the Madrid dressing room will only add further fuel to the fire concerning Benitez’s future. One particularly disturbing story describes Ronaldo informing a colleague ‘either he goes, or I do’ in reference to the manager.

Adding to the unrest on the playing side, the continued interference on player selection by the all-powerful Perez can only create an untenable situation for a manager of Benitez’s experience.

What other club in the world would allow one of their top performing players leave after finally landing the holy grail of La Decima in 2014, as was the case with Angel Di Maria? Or the architect of that successful season, Carlo Ancelotti?

In the case of Di Maria, it has been touted that the reason for the sale was that the player was not ‘marketable’ enough. In his place came James Rodriguez, recruited on the back of a highly successful tournament at the world cup in Brazil. An out of sorts Gareth Bale, a favourite of Perez, seems assured of his place in the team.

A situation unhealthy in terms of player motivation and squad harmony. The ineffective Modric was deployed in a holding midfield role in a move that seems alien to such a tactically pragmatic coach as Benitez. What was particularly surprising was the omission of Casemiro given his recent praise for the player who he credits with adding balance to the side. It would all point to the manager not having a free hand in how he sends his team out on to the pitch.

It is now highly likely that the club are actively on the hunt for the next manager; it will be the 14th appointment since the turn of the millennium.
For a club that seems to be in a perpetual state of discontent, it appears that Rafael Benitez is merely the latest victim of Florentino Perez’s insatiable demands.

Next Real Madrid Manager betting odds:
Zinedine Zidane $2.00
Carlo Ancelotti $11.00
Jose Mourinho $13.00
Laurent Blanc $17.00
Alejandro Sabella $17.00
Antonio Conte $19.00
Fabio Capello $19.00
Frank de Boer $19.00


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