It is no secret that Real Madrid have struggled so far this season under Julen Lopetegui’s tutelage and needs to turn things around for the better if they want to compete for significant honours once again in this campaign. However, the lack of positive results over the past few weeks has soured the mood at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Lopetegui might be living on borrowed time as the pressure keeps mounting on his shoulders. He needs to start delivering soon or else risk losing his job before the end of this campaign. One name being touted by the bookmakers to take over at Madrid has been former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
To the surprise of many, the French head coach is currently one of the leading contenders to replace Lopetegui at Madrid and is priced at 3/1. Only Antonio Conte is ahead of him in the odds with the Italian coach leading the way at 2/1.
Wenger has been able to acquire a legendary status at his previous club and is more than qualified to take over as the head coach of the Galacticos. On the other hand, Lopetegui managed to guide his Madrid team to a win against a tricky Victoria Plzen side in the UEFA Champions League last night.
That result may have bought the current Galacticos head coach some breathing room, but with a legendary manager like Wenger currently available, the Real Madrid chiefs would be foolish not to take a look at the Frenchman as a potential candidate to lead them back to glory.
Lopetegui made a name for himself while managing FC Porto where he had a healthy Points Per Game average of 2.24. His good work in Portugal saw him being rewarded with the head coach job for the Spanish national team. However, despite his highly successful two-year stay as the international manager for Spain, Lopetegui was relieved of his duties just before this summer’s FIFA World Cup and things have gone downhill for him since then.
Comparatively, Wenger made a name for himself at Arsenal where he took charge of 1205 matches with a Points Per Game average of 1.91. There is no doubt that the Frenchman is far more experienced than Lopetegui. However, let us not discount the last decade or so at Arsenal where he failed to win the league even once. At Real Madrid, you do not stay on at your job if you fail to win trophies just because you are ‘nice’.
At 68, he won’t be a long-term solution for Madrid. Hence, the La Liga giants should consider giving their current boss more time or else replace him with a young manager who has the potential to bring success to the Spanish capital for a sustained period of time. Unfortunately, Wenger’s best days are long gone.
