Rafael Benitez appointed Real Madrid coach: 5 things to watch out for

Tactically Fit

While he has changed formations at Napoli, his most apt one remained the 4-2-3-1, a formation that brought him success at Valencia and Liverpool before. This formation could fit Real Madrid kindly, with Benzema up top, Ronaldo, James, and Bale behind, Kroos and Modric dropping deeper, and then a static back four as shown below.

This formation is assuming, of course, that there are no dramatic changes to the starting XI of next year’s squad despite rumors growing that Gareth Bale will be discarded after a spell deemed unsuccessful by fan expectations and the Internet alike. The only thing that remains in question is, if there are changes to be made, then what are they? Raheem Sterling surely would not walk into that first team, though David de Gea would, meaning that if there is business to be done Rafa would have to do so quickly.