Could Raul lead Real Madrid’s new golden era after Ancelotti?،
You may have noticed that, almost two months before the January transfer market even opened, Real Madrid have been doing some extraordinary business in recent days. They extended the contracts of Fede Valverde (25 years old) until 2029, Eduardo Camavinga (21 years old) until 2029, Rodrygo (22 years old) until 2028 and Vinícius Jr. (23 years old) until 2027. The “lowest” release clause written into these contracts is for Camavinga (900 million euros), while the highest is for Vinicius (1.5 billion euros).
This means that while there is not a single elite club in the world that would not bite their hand to sign one or all of these players, it is financially impossible to do so unless one from this group fantastic never tires of life at the Bernabeu, asks to leave and gets his wish. Otherwise, they are untouchable.
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If we add to this that Jude Bellingham, 20 years old, is under contract in Madrid until 2029 (release clause of 1.5 billion euros), Aurélien Tchouaméni, 23 years old (900 million euros) until in 2028, and the next to have If his improved and extended contract will be 25-year-old Éder Militão, it becomes clear that president Florentino Perez has created a dynamic, loyal, talented and ambitious ecosystem at his club for the foreseeable future. Hats off to that.
The only question: who will be the manager who can party with this extraordinary group? Carlo Ancelotti is out of contract at the end of the 2023-24 season and Brazil want him to take over their national team this summer – oh how they wooed him!
By now, we know that if given enough encouragement, Perez would extend the 64-year legend’s tenure with The Whites. There is a long way to go this season before we find out whether or not Ancelotti can add to his superb collection of silverware at Madrid, but the way he has reshaped the first team’s tactics to immediately give Bellingham a flat -form to excel has had a big impact. on his employers.
However, let’s assume for a moment that “Carletto” actively wants a slightly reduced schedule in his life; perhaps he longs for the sun and joy of working between Brazil, Italy and Canada, given the reduced time an international coach spends at his office or on the training pitch. Furthermore, let’s assume that as the 2026 World Cup approaches, Ancelotti is keen to lift the magnificent trophy that has cruelly slipped through his hands as a player and manager.
In 1982, Ancelotti was to anchor the Italian midfielder who won the World Cup – coincidentally, in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid – but was seriously injured before that tournament. Then, when Italy lost on penalties to Brazil in the Pasadena Rose Bowl final in 1994, it was the last time Ancelotti was involved in international coaching as Arrigo Sacchi’s assistant. (Another coincidence: This was the last time the World Cup was hosted in North America, as that will be in about two and a half years.)
You could easily understand him dreaming of one last chance to win the biggest one of them all… right? So, if Ancelotti rejects the opportunity to lead this golden generation of Real Madrid: who would be next? Who has the right characteristics to meet the criteria Perez will set for managerial success?
It is at this point that I have to remind you who Raul Gonzalez Blanco is and what he achieved in Madrid.
The facts indicate that among Raul’s 25 trophies are five La Liga winners’ medals and, perhaps most importantly, three Champions League final triumphs. I would call these facts “dry”, because the man who currently coaches Real Madrid’s second team (Real Madrid Castilla) spent several years as The Whites“, where the adoration he received from the club’s supporters equaled or surpassed almost anything else in the long history of this great club.
Raul is so much more than a bunch of admittedly brilliant stats could ever represent. He was their spiritual leader, he was a magician Madrid – meaning that unlike most of the club’s all-time stars, he was born in the Spanish capital – and he was a genuine Madridista (that is, he was passionately devoted to the club, its triumphs, its character, its image and its ability to impose itself on the world, not just Spain).
No one has played more times for Real Madrid – and I would say no one ever will, given that his record is 741 matches – and for the longest time, his 323 goals made him The Whites‘ top scorer until Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema overtook him in recent seasons.
I know what you’re thinking. I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but didn’t I hear you say that “since Raul won the UEFA Youth League as Madrid youth team coach in 2020 and his decent work since becoming Castilla coach… he’s almost doomed to be the next man after Ancelotti?”
Well, here’s the problem. I firmly believe in the remarkable job that Xabi Alonso is doing at Bayer Leverkusen – they are top of the Bundesliga, something his club has never won, and are running away with their Europa League Group H – as well as his extremely optimistic and president- The pleasant sentiment of “I love Real Madrid”, which became 100% clear when he was a successful midfielder there in the post-Raul years, means he is a big favorite for succeed Ancelotti as he leaves. In fact, I think only in the event that Alonso turns down Perez, for some shocking reason, would anyone else be in the reckoning.
All of this leaves Raul between a rock and a hard place. He will have carefully observed the appointment (then, this week, the dismissal) of Villarreal by Pacheta, having given him exactly two months in office. Ridiculous. Villarreal approached Raul before Pacheta, but the Castilla coach was wise enough to decline the offer. Look how quickly he was proven right that Villarreal was a club both in a downward spiral and an extremely volatile place to ply your trade.
In recent seasons, Eintracht Frankfurt and Schalke 04 – the latter is a club where Raul won the German Cup – have tried to convince him to take over and, for the second time, leave Madrid for the Bundesliga. He rejected both temptations.
When Raul was promoted to head coach of Madrid’s youth team to take charge of Castilla, the latest proving ground for kids expected to reach the first team, former Real player and manager turned writer Jorge Valdano was full of praise. for the club legend.
“Madrid is incubating a coach who, for years, will face media pressure, the brutal atmosphere and the disproportionate expectations that surround the club,” he wrote in El Pais. “Some people say ‘it’s too early for him’, that’s what they told me left and center when I also gave him his first-team debut. His instincts are rock solid. Madridista, he puts the club first, then the team, then the individual players. I believe that in Raul, Madrid can find its version of [Pep] Guardiola or [Diego] Simeone, that is to say someone who perfectly embodies his institutional character.”
Since then, Raul has brought Madrid’s “second” team to within a whisker of promotion to the Segunda División, beating Barcelona in the playoff semi-finals and then losing in the final to Eldense: that match ended 4-4 and saw Castilla ahead on a count. -feedback on the performances of the two teams throughout the regular season.
In the scenario where Ancelotti takes charge of the most successful nation in the World Cup and attempts to lead them to a sixth trophy next summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico, I suggest that the only real Raul’s option, when Alonso takes over, is to leave Madrid, make his mark elsewhere and prove, as Alonso does, that he has the assets to be considered The Whites‘ big boss in the future.
A much more favorable scenario – at least for Raul – is the idea that Ancelotti surprises everyone, renews and, while the Italian remains in charge, Alonso is perhaps tempted elsewhere with a long contract (Liverpool, per example).
Either way, Pérez’s vision, his powers of persuasion and the fact that the Santiago Bernabeu is becoming an absolutely magnificent stadium to aim for glory, mean that the next five or six years of European football could easily be dominated by Real Madrid. and their generational talents. Raul will want to lead and share in this golden age if possible, and it will be extremely interesting to see what he does and how he manages to advance his cause over the coming months.
Regardless of the talents he was born with, the #1 characteristic that made Raul a great Real Madrid player is that he competes with ferocity. It remains to be seen how he will turn this unequal “match” in his favor, but he always plays to win. Watch this place.
