Assessing Xabi Alonso’s Potential As Carlo Ancelotti’s Successor at Real Madrid

• Real Madrid have reportedly identified Xabi Alonso as a potential replacement for Carlo Ancelotti
• The Italian coach could depart the La Liga giants to become coach of Brazil when his contract ends
• Alonso recently moved into top-tier football coaching with recent exploits in the German Bundesliga

Real Madrid have witnessed loads of changes to their squad so far this summer.

Fran Garcia, Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham, and Joselu Marto have all been brought into Carlo Ancelotti’s squad, to fill the void created by the departures of Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard, and Mariano Diaz ahead of next season.

There is also a lurking talk of Kylian Mbappe joining Los Blancos this summer.

While the shake-ups in Real Madrid’s playing squad seem endless, there could soon be a change in the dugout too, following reports from Marca that Carlo Ancelotti has agreed to take over as the next head coach of the Brazilian national team.

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The Italian tactician is reportedly expected to see out the remainder of his Real Madrid contract first before making the move to South America at the end of next season.

So concrete is Ancelotti’s rumoured agreement with the Brazilian football association that his son is alleged to be in line to take up the reins on an interim basis until the end of the 2023/24 season.

This will allow Real Madrid chief, Florentino Perez, plenty of time to identify Ancelotti’s replacement and whoever does succeed the Italian veteran will have massive shoes to fill.

Perez’s shortlist of Ancelotti’s replacements

Going by reports from Goal, Perez has drawn up a provisional three-man shortlist to replace Ancelotti, consisting of Zinedine Zidane, Jose Mourinho, and Xabi Alonso.

Both Zidane and Mourinho have previously had stints at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium dugout and have produced remarkable results for the Spanish capital club.

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Despite this, Mundo Deportivo has reported that Alonso is Perez’s preferred candidate. Coincidentally, his contract with Bayer Leverkusen expires at the end of next season - which could allow Real Madrid to poach him for nothing.

However, that is not the main reason why Perez is so keen on the Spaniard.

His interest is due to the 41-year-old taking over a struggling Leverkusen side in the 2022/23 season - his first senior managerial role - and turning their fortunes down to a great extent. They finished sixth in the Bundesliga, while also reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Alonso's preference for 3-4-3 formation

Alonso prefers a very attacking-prominent 3-4-3 system, in which he aims to push the wingbacks far forward to support the three attackers while holding a strong defensive base, anchored by the two central midfielders.

Ancelotti currently plays a 4-3-3 at Real Madrid, so it is not too dissimilar to his possible successor's style. This could see the pivot drop into the centre of a back three while giving the potential wingbacks, Fran Garcia and Dani Carvajal, more license to bomb forward and play to their strengths.

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Real Madrid have the players to take on a three-at-the-back set-up, with Eder Militao and David Alaba very capable of being outside central defenders, flanking Antonio Rudiger.

However, with so many quality midfield options plus the addition of Bellingham, it would feel like a waste to only have two starters, which would be the case in a 3-4-3 system.

Obviously, Alonso may alter formations if he does take the Real Madrid job. However, there is certainly an argument to suggest that it would be too soon now for him, but in a year’s time, he should be ready.

Alonso reunites with Mourinho

Sports Brief earlier reported on Mourinho and Alonso sharing a moment as former coach and player, when the pair met during the semi-final of the Europa League on May 11.

The Spaniard took his Bayer Leverkusen side to the Stadio Olimpico for the first leg of the clash, looking to stop the Portuguese's AS Roma from reaching back-to-back finals.