"You return in a blaze of glory, speaking of home and familiar feelings, feted in an official statement as one of the club's greatest legends, entrusted with reinventing the riches of the past for a new footballing age. You leave in a maelstrom of snide briefings and chaotic performances, after losing a power struggle with star players and falling out of favour with the club's godlike president. Let's just say that Xabi Alonso got the full Real Madrid experience in his eight months as coach."
"Obviously Alonso was appropriately reverent in his exit statement, expressing his gratitude for the opportunity, describing it as an honour. No point in burning your bridges when there's every chance you might get invited back: after all, one of the more underrated ways of getting yourself hired as Real Madrid coach in the future is having done the job in the past. For a club able to take its pick of the world's greatest managerial talent, Madrid often chooses to cast a curiously narrow net."
Real Madrid repeatedly appoints coaches who previously played for or worked at the club, creating a pattern of internal hires. Xabi Alonso returned as coach and experienced a rapid elevation followed by a turbulent exit after eight months, losing influence to star players and the president. Alvaro Arbeloa replaced Alonso and invoked the concept of 'Madrid DNA.' Historical examples include multiple stints by Vicente del Bosque and Luis Molowny, and the club last appointed an outside coach without prior club association in 2013 with Carlo Ancelotti. The club often narrows its managerial search despite global options.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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