Los Blancos’ season is already going down the pan following humiliations in La Liga and the Champions League, and the manager is usually the fall guy.
When you’re Real Madrid, you only have one of two moods: ‘simply the best’, or ‘total crisis’. After taking their place as 15-time champions of Europe in June, they have drastically drifted into the flames of calamity.
The Spanish giants are already nine points off the pace set by early leaders Barcelona in La Liga – a 4-0 loss at home to their Clasico rivals didn’t exactly do them the world of good – and currently sit in the bottom half of the Champions League’s new table, behind the likes of Brest, Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb, after losing 3-1 at home to AC Milan on Tuesday.
Nearly every starter at Santiago Bernabeu has faced the brunt of the local media, been scapegoated and dug out for either a lack of quality or commitment to the cause. Now, manager Carlo Ancelotti is starting to feel the heat.
The Italian has won two Champions Leagues since his return to Madrid in 2021 and is heading for GOAT conversations for the next few generations, yet even he is not without fault. There are legitimate questions to put at Ancelotti’s door.
Outside of an eight-year spell in charge of Milan in the 2000s, Ancelotti has largely operated as a short-term manager, whether by design or accident. In seven of his 11 managerial roles, he lasted just two years, and has tended to bounce around from one super-club to the next.
Reaching a fourth season in charge of this Madrid side makes this Ancelotti’s longest reign in charge of any club other than the Rossoneri. Even after winning the 2013-14 Champions League in his first stint with Los Blancos, he was cast aside a year later when they only narrowly failed to meet expectation. There was no good grace afforded, no sentiment to fall back on.
History tells us that Ancelotti likely won’t have much left in the tank to activate his proverbial second wind, while Madrid are typically not a club who are patient with their managers. The dressing room wouldn’t turn on him per se, but it’s a results business for Madrid more than any other club and they will act swiftly if things don’t pick back up again.
