Real Madrid’s top managerial target only available after the Club World Cup – report | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League has amped up the pressure on Carlo Ancelotti, so much so that an imminent sacking is not ruled out.

The Italian coach may well go down in history as one of, if not the greatest Real Madrid manager, but his days at the club are now seriously numbered.

Word has it that losing the final of the Copa del Rey against Barcelona will be the final nail in the coffin for Ancelotti, and it remains to be seen if he remains at the helm beyond next week.

A replacement, thus, becomes the need of the hour but the Merengues have luckily narrowed down and finalised a target a long time ago.

The chosen one

Alonso is the chosen one to replace Carlo Ancelotti. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

As relayed in a recent report by Rodra, there is consensus in the Real Madrid offices over Xabi Alonso being the team’s next manager. They see him as having the ideal profile required to lead a dressing room with multiple heavyweights.

The manager, after all, has left a mark during his ongoing stint at Bayer Leverkusen and has been well known for not only his man management but also his tactics. Further, his ability to handle media pressure with ease arrives as a massive positive.

With Alonso, Real Madrid hope to hit the golden lottery and return to their glory days. Moreover, they hope that the new coach will continue to trust young talents and promote players from the academy, something that has been a rarity in recent years.

The big question that remains, however, is when the manager can arrive in Madrid and get started. The Spanish journalist relays that Alonso will likely land in the Spanish capital only in July, after the end of the FIFA Club World Cup.

If Ancelotti is shown the exit door before that, either Santiago Solari or Raul Gonzalez will take over the reins of the first team as an interim manager and serve as a stand-in. All signs point to the former Real Madrid player being on the sidelines for the beginning of the next season.