Spanish newspapers are the simplest, and sometimes the hardest, resource for the latest information on club football in the country – especially in Madrid.
Barcelona crashed out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, but the murmurs of discontent over that defeat were a sharp contrast to the talk of a needed “revolution” at Real Madrid following their exit from Europe’s top table.
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Barcelona are on track to make it two titles in a row domestically, easing criticism over their Champions League exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid.
However, Real face a second trophyless season – trailing Barca by nine points in La Liga – and turmoil that has not been quelled by the fact that they have already changed manager once this season.
As record Champions League winners, Real at least came off with a stellar performance in Munich, but that is unlikely to keep interim head coach Alvaro Arbeloa in the running to become a permanent replacement for Xabi Alonso, who was sacked in January.
Arbeloa’s side led three times at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday and had every chance to dig deep and take the lead in a thrilling clash with the Bavarian giants, until Eduardo Camavinga’s red card in the 86th minute.
A late double for Bayern resulted in a 4–3 defeat to Madrid on the night – on which Arbeloa said his team “gave their soul and their life” – and a 6–4 aggregate defeat.
“An honorable exit that will not console or avoid another revolution,” the Spanish newspaper AS wrote after a heady night.
Viva la Real Revolution in Madrid
That revolution could cost Arbeloa his job. He probably had a long chance to join the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho in managing Los Blancos as an internally promoted coach.
Los Blancos are now bracing for more pain and possible change in the coming weeks and months.
“I have always tried to help the club in the best way possible and that will be the case until the last day,” Arbeloa told reporters after the match.
“I am not worried at all (about my future), and whatever decision the club takes, I will completely understand.
“I’m a club man. If I get injured today, it’s not for me. It’s for Real Madrid and because this year we won’t win our 16th (Champions League title).”
Under Real president Florentino Pérez, failure is rarely tolerated without paying a price.
When Arbeloa was promoted in January, Madrid did not reveal the length of his contract, suggesting he had no long-term guarantees.
The coach has sometimes struggled to motivate the team in La Liga and has managed only 13 wins in 21 matches.
In his first game in charge, the Real superstar lost the Copa del Rey to second-tier Albacete.
Yet his bold, attacking lineup against Bayern almost paid off.
Arbeloa left Camavinga and Thiago Pitarch on the bench and opted for an attacking midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Turkish playmaker Arda Guler, who struck twice.
Ultimately, it was not enough, and Real would likely fail to win any silverware for the second consecutive season for the first time since the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 campaigns.
How to solve a real problem like Mbappé, Vinicius and Bellingham
Perhaps Madrid’s biggest problem remains one that neither Ancelotti could solve last season nor Alonso could solve in his short spell: how to fit Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Bellingham into the same team without losing balance.
Arbeloa could argue Bayern’s second leg showed it is possible with the England international Bellingham impressive, Mbappe on the scoresheet and Vinicius hitting the woodwork.
Yet the energy and effort the star trio put into this game was beyond their regular performances this season and unlikely to be replicated on lesser occasions.
Needless to say, the team still conceded four goals.
Real’s anger over the crucial decision to send out Camavinga and his bold performance may help Arbeloa, but whether it is enough to save his job, only time will tell.
There is no obvious replacement for Perez to turn to.
The final weeks of the season in La Liga could impact on Arbeloa’s prospects, including Real’s performance in the Clasico against Barcelona on 10 May when the Catalans could capture the title.
It could be a grim march to the end of May, but Arbeloa said his team had “no other option” other than to try and defend the club’s badge as long as he is in charge.
Who is the favorite to become the new manager of Real Madrid?
There is one name on Real’s lips since his departure from Liverpool, where they ended an agonizing wait for Premier League glory, and that is Jurgen Klopp.
The German was immediately made favorite to replace Alonso in January ahead of Arbeloa’s interim appointment.
Klopp enjoyed seven successful years at Borussia Dortmund before being appointed as Liverpool manager in 2015.
The 58-year-old lifted the Premier League and Champions League titles at Anfield, marking the first success for the Merseyside club on that front in 30 years.
Klopp described reports in March that he had already been approached by Madrid for a summer acquisition, but that the rumors would persist until a new appointment was made.
Zinedine Zidane has been linked with all the top clubs across Europe and has already spent two stints in charge at Real.
The former France midfielder won the Champions League three times in a row in his first stint from 2016 to 2018.
His second stint, from 2019 to 2021, was not so successful, but with dark days of soul-searching ahead, perhaps only one of the club’s greatest Galacticos can bring an immediate smile back to the faces of the true faithful.
Didier Deschamps has had an astonishing 14-year tenure as France manager and he will lead the two-time winners at this summer’s World Cup.
One of those titles came under Deschamps’ tutelage in 2018, while the other he achieved as a player in 1998, but even another win this summer will certainly not extend his nation’s exceptionally long spell at the top.
The former midfielder has previous club experience with Monaco, Juventus and Marseille, but his exploits in charge of the French national team have established him as one of the top coaches in the game.
Other names in the reckoning are Aston Villa’s Spanish coach Unai Emery, who has taken the English club from mid-table obscurity to one of the potential contenders for the Premier League title, and Massimiliano Allegri, who led Juventus to five consecutive league titles and a Champions League final in his first spell with the Turin-based club.
The 58-year-old Italian’s second stint was not so brilliant and ended after two seasons – and in fact just two days after the Italian Cup success.
Allegri’s experience in the game is in line with the general requirements of a Real Madrid manager, coming with a wealth of credentials and success.
Whether it is an Italian, a Spaniard, a German or one of the two Frenchmen mentioned, a radical change in Madrid indeed seems to be a real necessity.
