7 greatest Real Madrid managers of all time
Real Madrid have a reputation of letting go of their managers at will, but in their 114-year history, the La Liga giants have had 38 full-time managers. Arthur Johnson was the first full-time manager appointed by Los Blancos in 1910 and ever since then, the club has gone on to re-write history books, becoming the most successful club of all time (International trophies).
The Madrid giants have had some absolute superstars play for them such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, but you don’t win 32 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey trophies and a record 11 European Cup/UEFA Champions League trophies without some amazing men at the helm.
Here are the best Real Madrid managers of all time:
#7 Zinedine Zidane
There are those who will naturally oppose the idea of Zinedine Zidane in this list, due to his relative ‘youth’ in terms of his managerial career. However, the Frenchman has already achieved some incredible feats in his 400 days in charge of Real Madrid so far.
‘Too much, too soon’ was the headline in the Madrid media when Zizou was announced as Rafa Benitez’ replacement. The Frenchman took over a despondent, underperforming squad, and within 5 months, had turned them into European champions, lifting the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League in May.
Currently, Zidane is the second-most successful manager in Real Madrid’s history in terms of win percentage, as his 72.13% success rate is only second to Carlo Ancelotti’s 74.79%. The Frenchman has guided the Real Madrid squad to beat a number of all-time Real Madrid records, including the most consecutive wins in La Liga (16, level with Barcelona), and going 40 games unbeaten in all competitions – the best streak by a Spanish team, ever.
The Frenchman is only the second Real Madrid stalwart ever to lift the UEFA Champions League as a player and manager. The other? A certain Miguel Munoz – and Zidane is well on his way to emulate the Madrid legend.