Real Madrid: Who is in for the ‘White’ throne?

Make those beyond the football field believe

One thing that made Mourinho successful enough at Real Madrid was to keep President Perez, the board members and the fans happy (even at the cost of Jorge Valdano). The new manager needs to continue this trend if he expects to get a good transfer kitty and also enough time to prove himself, as I do believe irrespective of how good a manager is, all of them do need time to put in their system into the team. One of the things that earned Mourinho extra happiness points was his way of handling the media. No doubt, there cannot be another manager who loves the media spotlight like Mourinho does (I am sure same must have been said when Brian Clough was still in business) but the new manager needs to continue being the shield for his team when it comes to handling media pressure.

Handle the young ones well

We consider Raphael Varane, Zinedine Zidane’s retirement gift to Real Madrid but his success at Real Madrid is all thanks to Jose Mourinho. The new manager will have to make sure the growth of young players at Real Madrid is not hampered, and Varane is not the end of the list. Players like Morata, Jese and Casemiro should be given enough opportunity to become great players with the potential they have and at Real Madrid, and not at Valencia, Sevilla, Getafe or more recently at Leverkusen.

Continue with the principle of ‘team player first stars after that’

Real Madrid needs to continue having mangers with strong character. We don’t need sponge holding up the temperature controlled seats in Real Madrid dugout. We need rock solid managers in that post, and that is exactly what Real Madrid got when we signed Mourinho. When a team has players like Pepe, Ronaldo, Ozil, Casillas and Ramos who are established stars on the international stage, you need a manager who will make sure that they are reminded about playing for the team first and then playing for individual honours. Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t become the greatest manager in the world just by cuddling his players or being fairy god father for his players; he also needed a ‘hair dryer’ to keep things right in his dressing room.

Defeating Barcelona is the best trend

Nothing makes Madridistas happier than defeating their not-so-friendly rivals, Barcelona. Mourinho not only took the La Liga title away from Barcelona (even if it was for a season) but also brought back the confidence to defeat Barcelona, which seemed lost for a long-long time. The new manager needs to keep in mind the loyal faithful of Real Madrid might forgive you for losing the La Liga title but a loss to Barcelona is never forgotten at Santiago Bernabeu.

The above mentioned requirements for a new manager might be difficult to be found in one manager, but a manager fulfilling four of the above requirements (including defeating Barcelona) can make him successful at the hot seat. Frankly speaking, if the new manager is not ready to accept that he would be taking over a very successful manager of the modern era and is not ready to learn, I am sorry fellow Madridistas, we are in for a bumpy ride.