Santiago Solari joins fabled list of Real Madrid players turned head coach

Sport360 staff 17:10 14/11/2018
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  • Santiago Solari has been appointed manager of Spanish giants Real Madrid and becomes the 17th boss to also have played for the club.

    Solari played for Atletico Madrid for a season before making the move to the Bernabeu, where he won the Champions League, two La Liga titles, a UEFA Super Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in his five years.

    Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at five other Real Madrid players who have gone on to manage Los Blancos.

    Julen Lopetegui, manager 2018

    The former goalkeeper was in charge at Real for just 138 days and oversaw the club’s second-worst ever run of eight hours without scoring.

    Lopetegui lost his job in the aftermath of their 5-1 beating by Barcelona, which was also their third consecutive league defeat.

    With the Real sacking, Lopetegui has lost two managerial jobs in the space of a year, after he was sacked by Spain just two days before the World Cup after his decision to join Real was announced.

    As a player, the Spanish goalkeeper only made one senior appearance for Real, and spent one of his two years there out on loan to Las Palmas.

    Zinedine Zidane, manager 2016-18

    One of Real’s most successful managers, Zidane won nine trophies while in charge of the side, with a win percentage of 69.8.

    Zidane chose to resign just days after his third Champions League win over Liverpool, saying the club required ‘a different voice’.

    The former France midfielder won three successive Champions Leagues, becoming just the third manager to do so, and he also won La Liga once, a Spanish Super Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups.

    Zidane spent five years at Real Madrid as a player, after joining from Juventus for a then world record fee of around €77.5 million, and scored a match-winner in the 2002 Champions League final. He also won La Liga during his time as a player at the Bernabeu.

    Vincente del Bosque, manager 1994, 1996, 1999-03

    In charge of the side he had previously represented for 11 seasons, del Bosque won seven trophies in four years.

    The former Spain manager took charge of Real twice as caretaker boss, in 1994 and in 1996 while he was youth team coach, before he was offered the job as permanent first team coach in 1999.

    He managed the side during one of their most successful spells, and was in charge of ‘Los Galacticos’ which included the likes of David Beckham, Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo.

    Del Bosque played almost 450 times for Real, between 1974 and 1984, as a defensive midfielder. He won five league titles, four Copa del Reys and was part of the side that lost to Liverpool in the European Cup final in 1981.

    Alfredo Di Stefano, manager 1982-84, 1990-91

    The Argentinian forward managed Real in two spells, neither of which were particularly successful for the club, and won just one trophy.

    Di Stefano won the Spanish Super Cup in his second spell in charge at the Bernabeu where he oversaw just 21 games, compared to 108 between 1982 and 1984.

    During his time in charge in the 1980s, Real finished third in the league, were beaten by Aberdeen in Europe and lost three finals, the Spanish Super Cup, the Spanish League Cup and the Copa del Rey.

    Di Stefano is remembered more fondly at Real for his playing exploits, having scored 216 league goals in 262 games, then a club record in a strike partnership with Ferenc Puskas, and he also won the Ballon d’Or twice.

    Luis Molowny, manager 1974, 1977-79, 1982, 1985-86

    Molowny was wanted as a player by both Barcelona and Real when he chose to sign for the later in 1946 from Marino.

    The Spanish midfielder became a coach for Las Palmas immediately after retiring aged 32 before taking over as manager at Real in 1974 where he won the domestic cup as interim manager.

    Throughout his four spells as coach, Molowny also won consecutive UEFA Cups in 1984-85 and 1985-86.

    The Canary Islander played 172 times for Real and scored 89 goals. He won five trophies including two league titles and the 1956 European Cup, despite not playing in the final itself.

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