Real Madrid look set to finally consider a long-term strategy in their dugout, with Carlo Ancelotti set to be offered a new contract.
The Spanish giants are notorious for firing and hiring new head coaches at will, something which is evident when the last decade or so is considered. Since the popular Vicente del Bosque was controversially sacked at the end of the 2002-03 campaign – a day after leading them to the league title – Los Blancos have had no fewer than 11 men in charge of their first team affairs.
This list includes coaches of the calibre of Carlos Queiroz, Fabio Capello, Manuel Pellegrini and Jose Mourinho, the latter of whom made way for Ancelotti in the summer of 2013. The Italian has enjoyed great success at the Bernabeu, delivering the Copa del Rey and, of greater significance, the UEFA Champions League – La Decima – in his debut season in the dugout.
Furthermore, Real are currently in the midst of a record 21-match winning streak in all competitions, which has seen them safely book their passage into the second round of the competition they won in Lisbon last term. They also hold a four-point lead at the top of La Liga, and all this looks set to lead to president Florentino Perez handing Ancelotti a new contract.
“We will be delighted to renew Ancelotti’s contract,” he told Cadena Ser. “I’m sure there will be no problem with Ancelotti’s renewal, but this will be negotiated at the end of the season. We only speak about renewing contracts at the start or at the end of the season. Ancelotti treats all of his players as a family and that is noticeable. But I have the same fondness with all the coaches that I’ve had.”
Ancelotti, who won two Champions League and a Serie A title with Milan, a Premier League and FA Cup double at Chelsea and then the Ligue 1 crown with Paris Saint-Germain, is currently under contract in the Spanish capital until the end of the 2015-16 season. If he sees this through, and then the term of whatever he is offered on top, he would become the longest-serving coach since del Bosque.
The 55-year-old would, though, still be some way off the club’s longest-serving manager in their history. That honour goes to Miguel Munoz, who enjoyed a 15-year reign in the dugout in total, which consists of a spell in 1959, and then from 1960-1974. It is perhaps no surprise that he is also their most successful boss, having won nine La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, and two European Cups.
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