Perez reaffirms support for Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez

Andy West 04:55 19/12/2015
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  • In the hotseat: Rafael Benitez.

    Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has insisted he is not considering reappointing Jose Mourinho, but he would not rule out bringing the Portuguese coach back to the Bernabeu in the future.

    Los Blancos boss Rafa Benitez has come under heavy pressure after overseeing a mixed start to the season, with last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Villarreal leaving them five points adrift of league leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

    But Perez has remained steadfast in his support of Benitez, claiming that he is the right man for the job. He said: “Benitez is the solution, not the problem.

    “It has been a horrible year for us, but Benitez is the right man to fix the problems we have had since January. We must give him time.”

    But Perez was also keen to reaffirm his affection for ex-boss Mourinho, who left the Bernabeu in the summer of 2013 after a divisive reign which yielded just one league title in three years and created serious friction within the club.

    Mourinho’s sudden availability on the job market at a time when Benitez is struggling makes it inevitable that he will be linked with a return to the Bernabeu, and Perez admitted he would not be averse to such a scenario.

    “We are only considering Rafa Benitez so Mourinho will not come back at this moment, but nobody can predict the future,” he added. “I have good memories of Mourinho. He lifted the team’s competitive level. We were 13th in UEFA’s ranking when he arrived and when he left we were first.

    “We also qualified for the Champions League semi-final three years in a row and only didn’t make the final due to bad luck.”

    Another man receiving the thumbs-up from Perez, and perhaps a more realistic candidate to replace Benitez when his time to leave the club does arrive, is French legend Zinedine Zidane.

    The former Madrid midfielder was appointed assistant to Carlo Ancelotti in 2013, and then moved to the position of coach for the club’s B team, who are currently pushing for promotion to the Segunda Division.

    Perez has never hidden his admiration for Zidane, who is widely expected to follow the example of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique at Barcelona by stepping up from the reserve team to take charge of the senior squad.

    Perez said: “I hold Zidane in very high esteem. Even now people still stop me and thank me for bringing him to the club.

    “I have great admiration for him and he would make a great coach at Real Madrid, but that’s a way off yet. He wants to be coach and has the hunger to be successful.”

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