The 5 worst managers in Real Madrid history

#3 Arsenio Iglesias

Arsenio Iglesias returned from retirement to take charge at Real Madrid, but his time there ended poorly.

More associated with Deportivo La Coruna – who he managed on three occasions during his lengthy career – Arsenio Iglesias’ time at Real Madrid is best left forgotten.

The former striker took over Deportivo for the third time in the 1991-92 season, and then led them to three top three finishes in La Liga during one of the club’s best periods.

Already 65 by the time the 1994-95 campaign concluded, Iglesias decided to retire from management for good – only to be tempted back into the game by Real Madrid in January 1996.

With Real struggling for traction in the league by the time of his arrival, Iglesias was expected to turn things around immediately.

However, he proved that he wasn’t capable of miracles – with Real Madrid ending the season disappointingly in sixth place.

Iglesias’ time with Los Blancos oversaw 10 wins, five defeats, and four draws in La Liga, while he also led them to Champions League elimination at the hands of Juventus.

Once the poor season ended, Iglesias unsurprisingly headed back into retirement after failing to replicate his Deportivo success at the Bernabeu.

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#4 Juan Roman Lopez Caro

Juan Roman Lopez Caro seemed way out of his depth as Real Madrid boss.

Sometimes, certain bosses simply seem way out of their depth from the off in big jobs – think David Moyes at Manchester United, for instance.

Juan Roman Lopez Caro’s brief reign at Real Madrid was very similar.

Lopez Caro arrived at the Bernabeu as a coach in the summer of 2001, and was put in charge of their B team, with whom he actually did a decent job.

However, with Real struggling under boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo, the club took a gamble. The Brazilian was fired and Lopez Caro was promoted into his place despite never managing in La Liga before.

The move turned out to be a horrendous mistake.

Lopez Caro’s side continued to struggle in the league. They didn’t lose too many games, but drew nearly as many as they won, and ended the campaign 12 points behind Barcelona in the league table.

Results were even worse elsewhere as Lopez Caro led Los Blancos to a Champions League defeat to Olympiacos in his first game, before they were dumped out by Arsenal in the round of 16.

And elsewhere, his side fell to a damning 6-1 defeat to Real Zaragoza in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

He never really seemed cut out to manage Real Madrid’s Galacticos. And it came as no surprise when he resigned at the end of the season – leaving the far more experienced Fabio Capello to take the helm in 2006-07.

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#5 Mariano Garcia Remon

Mariano Garcia Remon lasted just 101 days in charge of Real Madrid.

Given his predecessor Jose Antonio Camacho only lasted a handful of games in the Real Madrid hotseat, it seemed unthinkable that anyone could do worse.

However, that’s just what happened when Mariano Garcia Remon was strangely handed the reins when Camacho departed in September 2004.

A former goalkeeper, Remon was somewhat of a Real Madrid legend – winning six La Liga titles with the club in the 1970’s and 1980’s. If anything, that only made his time as boss at the Bernabeu even sadder.

Rushed into the job following Real’s loss to Espanyol, Remon did win his first game in charge. However, it was hardly impressive – a 1-0 win over Osasuna thanks to a late David Beckham strike.

Los Blancos then fell to defeat in their next two league games, while Remon also oversaw poor results in the Champions League, his side drawing with Dynamo Kyiv and Bayer Leverkusen.

Remon did oversee four straight wins from late October 2004 to early November, but his side quickly returned to their previous patchy form.

At that point it was clear that he was way out of his depth. And after a loss to Sevilla, he resigned after just 101 days in charge – making him the boss with the shortest-ever tenure at the Bernabeu.