Antonio Conte is apparently asking for quite a lot before he will agree to become Real Madrid’s next manager.
According to reports, the former Chelsea boss has told Real president Florentino Perez that he wants a two-and-a-half-year contract, the freedom to bring in his own backroom staff and a free hand in the transfer market.
That’s a big list of demands. Few managers are ever able to make their entrance into such a prestigious club as Real Madrid with so many conditions to be met, and Perez is extremely reluctant to make so many concessions to find someone for a role he can usually fill at the flick of his fingers.
But here’s a message for Florentino: give the man what he wants. Push aside your pride, sacrifice your principles and just get him. Do what it takes to appoint Conte, before you are forced to regret it, because you need him a lot more than he needs you.
Conte, there can be no doubt, is one of the best coaches in the world. This decade he has won four league titles (two more than Real) and led a mediocre Italy team (his strikers were Eder and Graziano Pelle, for goodness sake) to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, where they were unlucky to be ousted on penalties by Germany.
Florentino Perez must cast his sizeable ego aside.
Before long, he will get another job, and it will be a good one. Whenever a major job becomes available, he will be linked. Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain…you name them. Any mega-club which finds itself in trouble will seriously consider turning to Conte, because his track record is matched by very few other coaches. He is, therefore, in a strong position. He can afford to be choosy.
For Real, the opposite is the case. Saturday’s deeply unimpressive performance against Real Valladolid (forget the 2-0 victory gained through a late own goal and a penalty) only served to confirm what we already know: appointing Santiago Solari on a permanent basis, when he has absolutely zero experience of managing any senior team, would be an enormous gamble.
And if Perez is not willing to take that gamble, which he absolutely should not, his options are minimal to say the least. Who, at this time of the year, can he realistically hope to appoint?
Mauricio Pochettino may well be his favoured choice, but Spurs will not let him go without a fight. Jose Mourinho is also still in employment, just about. Roberto Martinez? Jurgen Klopp? They already have jobs, and will not be easily extracted. Arsene Wenger? A failure for the last decade. David Moyes? Well, actually a lack of options might really make him a serious candidate.
Conte is one of the best managers in the world, and he is available. Nobody else of his stature is so easily obtainable, and Perez’s decision should be very easy indeed. Only pride and a sense of one-upmanship is preventing the Real president from giving the Italian a contract tomorrow, and it would be a massively wasted opportunity if Perez insists on looking elsewhere.
Real Madrid did not impress in their 2-0 win over Real Valladolid.
In any case, are Conte’s demands really so bad? He wants a long contract? Great, stability is the cornerstone of lasting success. He wants to sign a new striker? Well duh, even Homer Simpson would recognise that as a necessity. He wants to bring in his own people? Naturally – every manager prefers to work alongside people he knows and trusts.
The problem is the fact that Zinedine Zidane somehow managed to win three successive Champions League titles, allowing Perez to believe that managers don’t really have to do much other than keep everyone happy.
He should, though, step back and look at the bigger picture: an ageing squad in need of renewal; a team which has been getting by on individual quality rather than collective structure; a record of consistent failure in the strongest test of strength, La Liga, with just two titles in 10 years.
Florentino…get over yourself. Antonio Conte is one of the best managers in the world. You need a new manager. Let’s not complicate things here. Just give him what he wants, and give him the job. If you don’t, your season is already over – and the next few don’t look too pretty either.
