Why Klopp and Luis Enrique are the sole coaches capable of resolving Real Madrid’s issues

Real Madrid typically achieves their objectives, whether it involves acquiring the top talents in football or securing prestigious trophies. However, as their disappointing season appears poised to reach a jarring conclusion against Bayern Munich in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal this week, it may initiate a search for a new manager that will likely leave many unsatisfied at the world’s premier club.

Madrid currently trails LaLiga leaders Barcelona by nine points and was eliminated from the Copa del Rey in the round of 16 by second-tier Albacete. Should they fail to overturn a 2-1 deficit away at Bayern on Wednesday, they will face a second consecutive season without a significant trophy, and Alvaro Arbeloa, who took over from Xabi Alonso as coach in January, can forget about staying in the role beyond the summer.

However, identifying a new manager who can meet Madrid’s distinct expectations—an elite coach with a proven history of success, who can impress a demanding locker room and fanbase with his character, and also deliver prompt results—will be more challenging than ever for president Florentino Perez.

Perez’s typical choices during a crisis—Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane—are unavailable due to other commitments, with Ancelotti likely to extend his contract with Brazil and Zidane set to take over from Didier Deschamps as France’s coach.

Ancelotti secured three Champions League titles and two LaLiga championships during two tenures as Madrid’s coach, while Zidane achieved the same Champions League and LaLiga success over two separate stints. Importantly, both were able to enter the locker room and command the utmost respect of a squad filled with strong personalities—something Alonso struggled to do during his six months in charge earlier this season.

Alonso came into the Madrid position with legendary status as a Champions League and LaLiga champion as a player; his accomplishments at Bayer Leverkusen as a manager, where he won a German Bundesliga title without suffering a defeat, enhancing Bayern’s decade-long domestic dominance, further elevated his standing. However, this reputation meant little once Madrid’s high-profile players decided he was not the right fit for them.

Madrid believed they were appointing football’s next young coaching star, but Perez miscalculated the dynamics within the dressing room, which is why the upcoming manager search will be particularly challenging.

The club needs to recruit a winner, but also someone who will not encounter the same issues with players that Alonso faced. So where should they look? If Perez is considering potential candidates, he will find a landscape that lacks a standout option.

There is no emerging talent with a comparable record to Alonso, and the top coaches—Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Paris Saint-Germain’s Luis Enrique, who could secure a second consecutive Champions League title this season—would be nearly impossible to attract to Madrid, not solely because both have managed Barcelona.

Thomas Tuchel might have been an appealing choice, given his status as a former Champions League winner with Chelsea, but the ex-Borussia Dortmund, PSG, and Bayern coach has recently committed to a new contract as England manager.

The five names leading the bookmakers’ odds for the next permanent Madrid manager highlight the lack of viable options available to Perez.

Arbeloa is the frontrunner, but after five losses in 19 matches in charge, the chances of the 43-year-old continuing into next season are virtually nonexistent.

Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp is the second favorite, and given his current role as head of global soccer for the Red Bull Group, he would be an intriguing appointment. He meets all criteria in terms of experience and presence, but the 58-year-old dismissed rumors linking him to Madrid last month as “nonsense,” and he has previously downplayed the allure of working for the club.

Following Klopp, the next two names on the list are AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri and United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Allegri, 58, is a well-respected strategist who has claimed domestic titles with Milan and Juventus, but he has never won a European trophy, and his last league title came with Juventus in 2019, making him less of a hot name in coaching at present.

The same applies to Pochettino, whose only domestic title was his 2021-22 Ligue 1 victory with PSG. The former Tottenham and Chelsea coach has spent nearly two years leading the U.S. team, but his reputation has not improved during a tumultuous period that has seen him lose nine of 24 matches in charge.

Benfica’s Jose Mourinho, Germany’s Julian Nagelsmann, and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola are among other names in consideration, while Aston Villa’s Unai Emery and former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca (currently unemployed) have also been mentioned as potential candidates for the Bernabeu. However, each has more drawbacks than advantages associated with their names.

Thus, Madrid faces limited options for the upcoming summer, a situation they have largely created for themselves. They parted ways with Ancelotti a year ago because the serial winner went one season without a trophy, while Alonso was let go to protect the feelings of certain key players rather than being supported to fulfill the role he was hired for.

Madrid dismissed the ideal coach in Ancelotti and failed to support his successor, leaving them with a weak pool of candidates. Unless they manage to secure a significant coup by hiring Luis Enrique or Klopp, they are unlikely to obtain what they truly desire or require this summer.