Real Madrid will not stick with their former-player-turned-manager, Alvaro Arbeloa, as a permanent manager at the end of the season, and the search for a new hand has been well underway.
Benfica head coach Jose Mourinho, Germany national team manager Julian Nagelsmann, soon-to-leave France head coach Didier Deschamps, including former Chelsea boss and USA national team head Mauricio Pochettino have been in Los Blancos’ watch list as potential replacement options at the end of the season.
Now, according to COPE, Argentina head coach, Lionel Scaloni, has not just been added to the list, but has emerged as the leading candidate.
The report adds Real Madrid have made ‘direct contact’ with Scaloni’s agent and could secure the services of the World Cup winner as new manager if all goes as planned.
Notably, a Real Madrid managerial position for Lionel Scaloni will mark a remarkable and gargantuan leap in the Argentine’s managerial career.
The Pujato-born tactician has experienced one of the most epic managerial rises in modern football. He started with a role in the Argentina youth teams, coaching the team’s U20 in 2018 and the rest is history.
By sheer luck and coincidence, Scaloni would rise to become Argentina’s first-team head coach following the exit of Jorge Sampaoli, whom he worked under as assistant manager.
Notably, he was first elevated to the caretaker manager after Sampaoli’s departure, before subsequently assuming the reins as the permanent manager.
Argentina legend of blessed memory Diego Maradona vehemently opposed Scaloni’s emergence as the Albiceleste’s head coach, citing his inexperience and low managerial profile.
However, the 47-year-old has since proved naysayers wrong, overseeing one of the most successful eras in Argentina’s football history.
His first shot at a major tournament in the 2019 Copa America was a disappointment as Argentina finished third in the competition after struggling to qualify from the group stages.
Two years after that setback, Scaloni turned around the narrative, leading the team to their first Copa America title in nearly three decades. This was followed with the 2022 Copa Finalissima triumph, and then a landmark 2022 World Cup victory.
In 2024, he led Argentina to their fourth major trophy under his watch, winning the 2024 Copa America for the second time in a row.
These and many other landmark achievements have positioned Scaloni as one of the most successful managers in international football in recent years, and a Real Madrid role would cap this meteoric rise.
He has had both playing and managerial experience in Spanish football having played for Deportivo La Coruna, Real Mallorca, Racing Santander, and working with Sampaoli as assistant manager at Sevilla. ,
Having conquered international football, a Real Madrid job – where success is demanded week-in and week-out across La Liga and UCL matches – will prove the ultimate test for Lionel Scaloni.
