{"id":1206439,"date":"2021-06-01T16:30:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T15:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1206439"},"modified":"2021-10-28T18:06:03","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T17:06:03","slug":"best-real-madrid-managers","status":"publish","type":"cult-corner","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/cult-corner\/best-real-madrid-managers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranked: The top 10 managers in Real Madrid’s history"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the second time in three years, Zinedine Zidane has stepped down as Real Madrid manager.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Frenchman leaves Real Madrid after a trophyless 2020\/21, having to watch on as rivals Atletico Madrid and Barcelona lifted the La Liga and Copa del Rey titles respectively.<\/p>\n

In a pretty scathing open letter to Real Madrid fans, published in AS<\/a>, Zidane credited his departure to the lack of faith and support from the club’s board for a long-term project.<\/p>\n

\n

“Dear Real Madrid fans,<\/p>\n

“For more than 20 years, from the first day I arrived in Madrid and wore the white shirt, you\u2019ve shown me your love. I\u2019ve always felt that there was something special between us. I\u2019ve had the enormous honour of being a player and the coach of the greatest club ever, but above all I\u2019m just another Madrid fan. For all these reasons I wanted to write this letter, to say goodbye to you and explain my decision to leave the coaching job.<\/p>\n

“When, in March 2019, I accepted the offer to return to Real Madrid after a break of eight months it was, of course, because President Florentino P\u00e9rez asked me, but also because all of you asked me every day to do so. When I met any of you in the street I felt your support and the desire to see me with the team again. Because I share the values of Real Madrid; this club belongs to its members, its fans and the entire world. I\u2019ve tried to follow these values in everything I have done, and I\u2019ve tried to be an example. Being at Madrid for 20 years is the most beautiful thing that\u2019s happened to me in my life and I know I owe that entirely to the fact Florentino P\u00e9rez backed me in 2001, he fought to get me, to bring me here when some people were against it. I say it from the heart when I say that I will always be grateful to the \u2018presi\u2019 for that. Always.<\/p>\n

“I have now decided to leave and I want to properly explain the reasons. I\u2019m going, but I\u2019m not jumping overboard, nor am I tired of coaching. In May 2018 I left because after two and a half years, with so many victories and so many trophies, I felt the team needed a new approach to stay at the very highest level. Right now, things are different. I\u2019m leaving because I feel the club no longer has the faith in me I need, nor the support to build something in the medium or long term. I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don\u2019t win, you have to leave. But with this a very important thing has been forgotten, everything I built day-to-day has been forgotten, what I brought to my relationships with the players, with the 150 people who work with and around the team. I\u2019m a natural-born winner and I was here to win trophies, but even more important than this are the people, their feelings, life itself and I have the sensation these things have not been taken into account, that there has been a failure to understand that these things also keep the dynamics of a great club going. To some extent I have even been rebuked for it.<\/p>\n

“I want there to be respect for what we have achieved together. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches. I wasn\u2019t asking for privileges, of course not, just a little more recollection. These days the life of a coach in the dugout at a big club is two seasons, little more. For it to last longer the human relationships are essential, they are more important than money, more important than fame, more important than everything. They need to be nurtured. That\u2019s why it hurt me so much when I read in the press, after a defeat, that I would be sacked if I didn\u2019t win the next game. It hurt me and the whole team because these deliberately leaked messages to the media negatively influenced the squad, they created doubts and misunderstandings. Luckily I had these amazing lads who were with me to the death. When things turned ugly they saved me with magnificent victories. Because they believed in me and knew I believed in them. Of course I\u2019m not the best coach in the world, but I\u2019m able to give everyone, whether it\u2019s a player, a member of the coaching staff or any employee, the strength and confidence they need in their job. I know perfectly well what a team needs. Over these 20 years at Madrid I\u2019ve learnt that you, the fans, want to win, of course, but above all you want us to give our all: the coach, the staff, the employees and of course the players. And I can assure you we\u2019ve given 100% of ourselves to this club.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019d like to take this opportunity to send a message to the journalists. I\u2019ve given hundreds of press conferences and unfortunately we have spoken very little of football, though I know that you love football, this sport that brings us together. However, and without any desire to criticise or lecture, I would have liked the questions not to have always been about controversy, that we might have talked more often about the game and above all the players, who are and always will be the most important thing in this sport. Let\u2019s not forget about football, let\u2019s care for it.<\/p>\n

“Dear Madrid fans, I will always be one of you.<\/p>\n

“Hala Madrid!<\/p>\n

“Zinedine Zidane”<\/p>\n

\n

Across his two spells with Real Madrid, Zidane won La Liga twice and three Champions League titles, among other competitions, with the three European Cups coming in consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n

So that got us thinking. Where does Zidane rank among the best managers in Real Madrid’s history? Read on and find out!<\/p>\n

10. Paco Bru<\/h2>\n

Honours: <\/strong>Copa del Espa\u00f1a (x2)<\/p>\n

A Barcelona hero as a player, Paco Bru is a historic name in Spanish football.<\/p>\n

First a player, then a journalist, a referee, the first national team coach, and eventually Real Madrid coach, he won two Copa Espa\u00f1a (Copa del Rey) titles. With 76 victories from 127 games in charge, only seven men won more games while in the Real Madrid dugout.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

CLICK HERE<\/a> to claim Virgin Bet’s new customer offer. 18+ only. \u00a310 min deposit & bet on sportsbook, placed & settled at 1.5 min odds within 14 days of sign-up. Win part of E\/W bets. 2 non-withdrawable \u00a310 Free Bet Tokens: accept in 7 days, valid for 7 days from acceptance (ex. E\/Ws & Multiples), stakes not returned.\u00a0Click here for Rules & Exclusions.<\/span>\u00a0Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

9. Fabio Capello<\/h2>\n

Honours: <\/strong>La Liga (x2)<\/p>\n

The Italian mastermind had two separate stints at the Bernab\u00e9u, with neither lasting more than a single season. And yet he won the La Liga title on both occasions.<\/p>\n

His pragmatic, defensive style didn\u2019t win over many fans, but he did bring players like Roberto Carlos to the club and the 2006\/07 league win would be the club\u2019s only title before the Gal\u00e1ctico project was dismantled for good.<\/p>\n

8. Jose Mourinho<\/h2>\n

Honours: <\/strong>La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espa\u00f1a<\/p>\n

Mourinho will always feel hard done by that his Real Madrid side faced the greatest Barcelona side in history as competition. A bitter rivalry was built up, which made the 100-point La Liga winning season of 2011\/12 even sweeter as the team won 32 of 38 games played.<\/p>\n

His win percentage of 72% is the best in the club\u2019s history. Success in Europe evaded him, while a Copa del Rey final defeat to Atl\u00e9tico on home turf meant a humiliating departure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

7. Carlo Ancelotti<\/h2>\n

Honours: <\/strong>Copa del Rey, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup<\/p>\n

The reported new\/old Real Madrid coach will always be remembered by Los Blancos fans for being the man to clinch La D\u00e9cima, their 10th Champions League triumph, after a 12-year wait.<\/p>\n

League success evaded him, but he did establish the BBC trident which would provide the foundations for Zidane\u2019s later success and bring the Frenchman into his coaching set-up.<\/p>\n

\n

Carlo Ancelotti has the highest winning percentage of his managerial career (74.79%) with Real Madrid during the two seasons he spent with the club.<\/p>\n

In his first season, he helped deliver La D\u00e9cima and the club's first #UCL<\/a> since 2002. pic.twitter.com\/0q7NJeMtdm<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) June 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n