The race to find the next Pep Guardiola has been the dominating factor in football club’s choices of their coaches. Real Madrid tried with Zinedine Zidane and achieved success. However, Zidane doesn’t truly compare to Guardiola as a manager due to the stark difference between their ideologies.
Moving internationally, Chelsea tried with Frank Lampard, Manchester United are trying with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Arsenal are trying with Mikel Arteta and PSG are trying with Mauricio Pochettino. However, Barcelona and Real Madrid’s bids to have Xavi and Raul back the helm respectively must not take that direction.
There will only ever be one Guardiola in the footballing world. Hence, with both clubs needing a fresh, young cycle to begin, it makes sense to trust two promising young coaches who know the game well. They also know how things work at their respective clubs, having captained them during their playing days.
Their statuses as respective club legends also go a long way in commanding respect. Moreover, their minimal salary demands will also help the clubs maintain financial stability in the current situation.
Xavi has been successful at Al Sadd, while Raul has enjoyed his own share of positives with Real Madrid’s B Team. Both Ronald Koeman and Zinedine Zidane seem to be on their way out of their respective clubs, and signs of two new former players taking over have never been more in number.
Whether or not this dream scenario actually comes to pass will only be clear in the summer, when decisions are made regarding the future of the clubs.
