Zinedine Zidane Reportedly Set to Replace Rafa Benitez as Real Madrid Manager

Reports are gathering pace suggesting Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez is to be relieved of his duties and replaced by former player Zinedine Zidane.

As we can see here courtesy of AS English and L’Equipe (h/t Sport Witness), there are suggestions that Zidane is ready to step in should Benitez get the boot:

As reported by Luke Brown of the Sun, L’Equipe claimed Castilla boss Zidane will be instilled as manager “imminently,” with Benitez coming under heavy pressure in the early stages of his tenure at the club. It's suggested chiefs at the Santiago Bernabeu are ready to admit appointing the former Liverpool manager was an error.

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Benitez was given a vote of confidence by club president Florentino Perez in the aftermath of the 4-0 loss to Barcelona last month, but his role has come under scrutiny again lately, as Real lost 1-0 to Villarreal at the weekend.

It was the latest loss in a string of poor results for Benitez, as we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football:

There have been some peculiar decisions from the Los Blancos boss, that’s beyond doubt. His team selection in the Clasico was uncharacteristically reckless, and for the clash with Villarreal, he decided to leave playmaker Toni Kroos on the bench. In both matches, the choices were proven to be misguided.

Talk of unsettled players in the camp has been prevalent throughout the season, most notably with star forward Cristiano Ronaldo. The latest reports, coming courtesy of Jose Felix Diaz of El Chiringuito (h/t the Irish Independent) suggest the Portuguese is unhappy after Benitez asked him to put in some extra work to improve his set-piece prowess.

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If Benitez was to move on, Zidane would face a massive challenge if he was to take over. As we can see here courtesy of OptaJean, it’d be an historic appointment by the Bernabeu club:

While Zidane has done some positive things with the club’s second team, making the step up from that level to one of the biggest jobs in world football cannot be an easy progression.

As an all-time great of the game, the Frenchman would definitely command the respect of his players, but his managerial principles, motivational skills and tactical acumen would be dragged under the microscope.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press/Associated Press

Spanish football journalist Rafael Hernandez thinks reports in the Madrid media suggest it won’t be long before Zidane is thrust into the hot seat:

Benitez may feel as though it’d be harsh to relieve him of his duties quite so soon. After all, he’s still only months into the job, Real are well in the hunt for the La Liga title and are safely through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

However, the Madrid giants have a different set of rules to every other team on the planet and, currently, Benitez is not adhering to them.

The Madridistas want their side to play both aesthetic and effective football, which is not on show.