Rafa Benitez has been sacked by Real Madrid - seven months after he took charge of the club.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has lost three of his 18 La Liga games in charge, though Los Blancos were kicked out out of the Copa Del Rey for fielding an ineligible player .
Zinedine Zidane is current favourite to take over. Here are five other contenders.
Rafa Benitez has been sacked by Real Madrid - seven months after he took charge of the club.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has lost three of his 18 La Liga games in charge, though Los Blancos were kicked out out of the Copa Del Rey for fielding an ineligible player .
Zinedine Zidane is current favourite to take over. Here are five other contenders.
KEY EVENTS SO FAR
Zidane to be Real Madrid boss: Twitter reacts
Any big breaking news from Real Madrid tends to bring the internet close to meltdown. Frankly, if Cristiano Ronaldo blows his nose hard enough, social media servers across the globe feel the strain.
That’s why Rafa Benitez’ sacking - a genuinely seismic story from the Bernabeu - has caused quite a stir.
Factor in the news that Zinedine Zidane - one of the greatest players of all time and a Los Blancos legend - is set to replace him, and no-one should be surprised to see Twitter wobbling under the weight of comedy messages.
It seems plenty of people have got plenty of thoughts about the big change at Real.
KEY EVENT
Any big breaking news from Real Madrid tends to bring the internet close to meltdown. Frankly, if Cristiano Ronaldo blows his nose hard enough, social media servers across the globe feel the strain.
That’s why Rafa Benitez’ sacking - a genuinely seismic story from the Bernabeu - has caused quite a stir.
Factor in the news that Zinedine Zidane - one of the greatest players of all time and a Los Blancos legend - is set to replace him, and no-one should be surprised to see Twitter wobbling under the weight of comedy messages.
It seems plenty of people have got plenty of thoughts about the big change at Real.
KEY EVENT
Who's next? Five contenders
Real Madrid are on the lookout for a new permanent manager, after Rafa Benitez was shown the door on Monday.
Los Blancos missed the chance to gain ground on La Liga favourites Barcelona over the weekend, who were held to a 0-0 draw in the Catalan derby with Espanyol.
Real were held to a 2-2 draw by Gary Neville’s Valencia at the Mestalla after being pegged back twice.
Club president Florentino Perez held a meeting at the Bernabeu on Monday afternoon to confirm that the former Liverpool manager’s time in the Spanish capital was up.
Real Madrid are on the lookout for a new permanent manager, after Rafa Benitez was shown the door on Monday.
Los Blancos missed the chance to gain ground on La Liga favourites Barcelona over the weekend, who were held to a 0-0 draw in the Catalan derby with Espanyol.
Real were held to a 2-2 draw by Gary Neville’s Valencia at the Mestalla after being pegged back twice.
Club president Florentino Perez held a meeting at the Bernabeu on Monday afternoon to confirm that the former Liverpool manager’s time in the Spanish capital was up.
Rafa Boo-nitez
It’s safe to say the fans didn’t exactly take to Benitez.
Here’s a video from last month’s win over Real Sociedad.
The manager’s name was read about before kick-off to a chorus of boos and whistles from the supporters in attendance in the Spanish capital.
It’s safe to say the fans didn’t exactly take to Benitez.
Here’s a video from last month’s win over Real Sociedad.
The manager’s name was read about before kick-off to a chorus of boos and whistles from the supporters in attendance in the Spanish capital.
Player power?
Thought Florentino would keep Rafa in place as a shield for a while yet, but players look to have forced it...
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) Mon Jan 04 15:25:26 +0000 2016
Press conference due this evening?
It looks as though we could get an official announcement in the next hour or so.
@English_AS Zidane will step us as Madrid interim coach with Santi Solari as his No.2. A press conference has been announced for 1730 CET
— AS English (@English_AS) Mon Jan 04 15:07:32 +0000 2016
The final straw
Last night’s draw over Valencia was the last straw for president Perez, who decided to axe the former Liverpool and Chelsea boss this afternoon.
Yet in a rare moment of support this season, Benitez was warmly received by Valencia’s fans upon returning to the Mestalla Stadium as Real Madrid manager.
The Spaniard was taking his new team back to his former stomping ground looking for a win which would’ve taken them within two points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
However, Real Madrid had to settle for a point as goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were cancelled out by Daniel Parejo and Paco Alcacer.
While Benitez has struggled to win over the Bernabeu faithful since replacing Carlo Ancelotti as boss in the summer, Valencia’s supporters clearly still hold plenty of affection for him.
Who next?
Zinedine Zidane, coach of Real Madrid’s second team, Castilla, is ready to assume the hot seat.
The World Cup winning midfielder has long been earmarked for the top job at the Bernabeu and will be pressed into action should Perez make the big call and sack Rafa.
Key players in the Madrid dressing room have begun to turn against Benitez, and it could be the decisive factor in convincing the club’s board to do away with the Champions League-winning coach.
Rafa gone
Rafael Benitez has been sacked as manager of Real Madrid - seven months after he took charge.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has endured a tough season at the Bernabeu since taking over in June, and while he only finds his side just four points off Barcelona at the top of La Liga he has had fallouts with key players and been criticised for a defensive style of football.
Benitez was also denied the chance for another piece of silverware, the Copa del Rey, after an administrative gaffe saw them expelled for fielding an ineligible player against Cadiz.
It leaves the Champions League as their most likely chance of glory this season, but club president Florentino Perez has opted for a change ahead of their round-of-16 tie with Roma next month.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has endured a tough season at the Bernabeu since taking over in June, and while he only finds his side just four points off Barcelona at the top of La Liga he has had fallouts with key players and been criticised for a defensive style of football.
Benitez was also denied the chance for another piece of silverware, the Copa del Rey, after an administrative gaffe saw them expelled for fielding an ineligible player against Cadiz.
It leaves the Champions League as their most likely chance of glory this season, but club president Florentino Perez has opted for a change ahead of their round-of-16 tie with Roma next month.
No comments:
Post a Comment