Former Russia and Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello has laughed off rumours that linked him to the managerial hot-seat at Madrid. Capello had two previous short stints at Los Blancos and showed no intention of returning to the Bernabeu. The vastly experienced Italian had left his position as coach of Russia earlier this year and was considered among the candidates to replace Rafa Benitez.
Spanish television station Cuatro invited the former Real manager to discuss a possible third stint with the club and he said, “Is this a joke?" before bursting into laughter.
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Capello duly added, “No, no, no. I don't want to talk about this because it's a joke. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
The 69-year-old was offered the job first in 1996/97 and guided the Blancos to a league title. Despite his success, he fell out with the chairman Lorenzo Sanz and was not popular with the fans for ‘demoting’ Raul to the left wing.
The Italian returned 10 years later for his second spell with the Spanish giants and he ended their wait for a league title since 2003. However, he was sacked again just 11 days after he helped Real lift the league title and the reason behind it was their style of play under Capello.
Rafa Benitez under pressure from club and fans
According to reports from Spain, Madrid are willing to give Benitez one more chance to get things right and keep the boat afloat. However, it is very clear that he will leave the club after the next big disappointment. Benitez only took over at the Bernabeu in June, but the former Valencia and Liverpool boss has endured a tricky start to his tenure, with a 4-0 Clasico defeat against Barcelona last month being a low point.
He has reportedly lost the dressing room with players like Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez and Isco being unhappy with his coaching style and decisions. Either way, it seems that Benítez's era with Real Madrid is almost over.
Capello is known for being a very severe coach and nobody knows whether this would be successful with this roster or not. Initially, Jose Mourinho, Zinedine Zidane and Capello were tipped to be the favourites for the job and now it looks like Real’s options are limited.
