Real Madrid News
Report – Real Madrid’s stance on making Santiago Solari the permanent manager if he wins Club World Cup
According to a report by journalists Hugo Cerezo and Alfredo Matilla (via Madrid Zone), Santiago Solari is in the conversation at Real Madrid, but not as a long-term managerial option.
The journalists mention that the club continue to hold Solari in high regard, particularly for the role he played during the 2018/19 season.
That campaign saw him begin a necessary generational transition, promoting Vinicius Jr. and moving away from veterans such as Gareth Bale, Isco, and Marcelo. While it was a short spell, it is one the club remembers fondly.
Solari could return
Solari has remained closely linked to the club since his departure as manager, and Real Madrid value his understanding of the institution.
The report claims that once Carlo Ancelotti depart this summer, Solari is viewed as a potential interim solution, especially for the FIFA Club World Cup.
However, it is already clear that even if he wins that tournament, Solari will not be considered for the permanent managerial role.
The reasoning is simple. Real Madrid view him as a safe and stabilising short-term figure. His coaching career has largely taken a backseat in recent years, and his current role as director of football has kept him connected with the club.
Despite being in pole position to take over on an interim basis, Solari is not seen as a star coach nor someone who would threaten the club’s longer-term vision, namely, the more than likely arrival of Xabi Alonso.
Solari won’t demand much
If Solari steps in temporarily, he is unlikely to demand control or push for long-term planning, making the eventual handover to Alonso far easier for the club to manage.
Meanwhile, the final months of Ancelotti’s reign remain somewhat uncertain. While it is almost certain that the Italian will leave at the end of the current campaign, it remains unclear whether he will be allowed to oversee the Club World Cup.
His move to coach the Brazil national team is on hold, leaving his immediate future unresolved.
In any case, Solari’s potential appointment would simply serve to keep the ship steady before Real Madrid launch a new era under a different, more permanent figure.
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
