Vacancy at Real: Who'll replace Mou in Madrid?

Posted Tuesday, May 21, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Real Madrid have announced that Jose Mourinho will leave the club following their final game of the season against Osasuna on May 31.

The Special One has been heavily tipped to return to Chelsea this summer and his departure leaves a vacancy for one of the most high profile jobs in world football.

Here, we look at the main contenders to succeed the Portuguese in the Santiago Bernabeu hotseat.

Carlo Ancelotti
The Italian has emerged as the hot favourite to take over at the Bernabeu in recent weeks, although his exit from Paris St Germain may not be as straightforward as his suitors would have hoped.

Reports emerged over the weekend that Ancelotti was keen to leave the Parc des Princes, but Les Parisiens' owners are reluctant to let the man who guided the club to their first league title in 19 years this season leave.
It is rare that Madrid do not get what they want, however, and if they could prize Ancelotti out of the French capital they would be recruiting a coach with considerable pedigree.

Ancelotti won the Premier League with Chelsea, but it is his exploits at AC Milan which stand out, where he won two Champions League titles, the trophy which Madrid crave above all others.

Rafael Benitez
Another ex-Chelsea manager with a European Cup triumph on his CV, it is possible Benitez could swap jobs with Mourinho this summer.

Despite guiding the Blues to the Europa league title and Champions League qualification this season, the Spaniard has not been retained in west London. He guided Liverpool to European Cup glory in 2005 but his association with Madrid goes way back.

Benitez coached the youth teams at the Bernabeu and made his way through the ranks to coach Real Madrid B and serve as first-team assistant to Vicente del Bosque.

After branching out away from the capital he moved to Valencia in 2001 and in three seasons with Los Che won two La Liga titles and the UEFA Cup. The 53-year-old had an unsuccessful spell at Inter Milan after leaving Anfield, but still boasts one of the most impressive managerial records in Europe.

Michael Laudrup
The Swansea manager also has an association with Madrid after helping Los Blancos wrestle the La Liga title back from Barcelona as a player in 1995.

Laudrup had been a member of the Catalan dynasty that won four consecutive titles in the early 90s, but his controversial switch in the summer of 1994 provided the catalyst for Madrid to break the chain.

He has also managed in the capital after spending a single season with Getafe in which they reached the Copa del Rey final and quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. The Dane has also coached Brondby, Spartak Moscow and Real Mallorca, but it is his work this season in south Wales which has caught the eye.

Laudrup guided the Swans to victory in the Capital One Cup and a ninth-placed finish in the Premier League, while earning numerous plaudits for his style of football along the way. And while his playing career may make him a popular appointment with the fans, a lack of European experience may go against him.

Roberto Mancini
The Italian is looking for work after being dismissed by Manchester City and would doubtless see the job at the Bernabeu as a chance to prove his former employers wrong.

Despite winning the FA Cup and Premier League in his three-and-a-half year spell at the Etihad, a lack of success in the Champions League eventually proved his downfall and that could also go against him in the race for the job in Madrid.

But he holds a formidable domestic record with three consecutive Serie A titles with Inter Milan and four Coppa Italia titles. He also tends to keep a reasonably low profile and that could prove tempting to a club that have had three seasons of the Mourinho show to contend with.

Jurgen Klopp
Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp is one of the most sought-after managers on the continent after resurrecting the Westphalians' fortunes since his appointment in 2008.

He began his managerial career with Mainz in 2001 and guided the unfashionable outfit from the second tier into the Bundesliga and, in 2005, into the UEFA Cup in 2005. The 45-year-old won the Bundesliga in his third season at Dortmund and successfully defended the title the next year, while also adding the DFB-Pokal.

Klopp has gained many plaudits for his attacking style, with Mario Gotze and Robert
Lewandowski at its heart and, while his side were blown away by Bayern Munich domestically this term, they could gain revenge at Wembley in Saturday night's Champions League final.