Real Madrid news: Raul gets mounting support to replace Zidane

The Real Madrid heirarchy is not not too thrilled about what comes next after the departure of head coach Zinedine Zidane. While it is an opportunity to make changes for the better, everyone is wary of repeating the debacle that the club went through after his last departure in 2018.

It may be remembered that the man who replaced Zidane on the Real Madrid bench after his first exit, Julen Lopetegui, only lasted for five months. At the time of his sacking, the club was all the way down in 9th place on the La Liga table.

Real Madrid Castilla manager at the time, Santiago Solari then took over and was given the task of salvaging what was left of the season. He did manage to turn things around, taking the club to second place in La Liga and to the later stages of both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.

Solari was also able to introduce members of the youth squad into the first team with much success, showing the club that putting confidence in youngsters can really pay off.

Zidane returned at the end of that season, and now the club is cautious about taking the next step. According to several Real Madrid legends, some lessons may be learned from the past. Many are looking at current Castilla manager Raul Gonzalez Blanco as the most logical choice.

Zidane himself was a member of the Galacticos before taking on a coaching role with Los Blancos. He moved up from Castilla to become one of the club's most successful managers in history. Many are hopeful that his fellow Galactico, Raul, can mirror his success at the helm of the first team squad.

Fernando Morientes, Predrag Mijatovic, Jorge Valdano and Alvaro Benito all agree. Marca quoted all four legends, each with his own take on Raul's possible appointment.

"Raul is more ready than anyone. He's one of the most reliable options available. His way of working is innovative. Santiago Solari had a lot of personality, but Raul has double that. He was a winner as a player, and he's that as a coach," said Morientes, who knows all three managers very well after sharing a dressing room with them in the 2000s.

Mijatovic also placed his bet on Raul, but warned that not all successful players become successful managers. "Zidane and [Pep] Guardiola did it, but [Andrea] Pirlo couldn't at Juventus," he said.

Benito likewise, has no doubt that Raul will do very well as the head coach of a club that he led to numerous titles as captain. Valdano pointed to Raul's success at mentoring the Castilla players, many of whom helped Zidane in the latter stages of the past season when numerous first team players were sidelined due to injury.

"Castilla have done much better than expected. Every Castilla player who debuted with the first team did very well," he said.

Raul meanwhile, is also being pursued by German side Eintracht Frankfurt. It remains to be seen if he will take on the challenge.