Real Madrid will regret not appointing Antonio Conte last year

FLORENCE, ITALY - NOVEMBER 12: Antonio Conte during the "Golden Bench" award at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano on November 12, 2018 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
FLORENCE, ITALY - NOVEMBER 12: Antonio Conte during the "Golden Bench" award at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano on November 12, 2018 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

It’s come back to bite Real Madrid in the backside…

It seems like a long time ago but it was only last year that Real Madrid were struggling with their managerial situation.

Both Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari started their reigns as boss well before it all came crashing down. When Zinedine Zidane was brought in midway through last season, many thought that things would take a turn for the better. However, fast forward less than a season and its not been the case at all.

Zinedine Zidane now finds his position as Real Madrid boss in jeopardy. Real Madrid have won just two of their last five matches. Those included a 0-0 draw in El Derbi with Atletico Madrid and a 3-0  hammering by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

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They do sit top of La Liga at the moment but they’re seriously struggling in the Champions League. They sit in last place of group A, after failing to pick up a win against both Paris Saint-Germain and even Club Brugge.

It seems weird to say that Zinedine Zidane is struggling in Europe. After all, he has only managed for three seasons in the competition and won all three of those rather convincingly. However, things are not permanent and the Frenchman’s merits will not be assessed on recent seasons. Things need to be improved and they need to be improved fast.

Antoine Conte was the answer

However, to rub salt into the wounds, they were turned down by a world-class during their search. Calciomercato have reported that Real Madrid considered hiring former Chelsea and Juventus coach Antonio Conte before the Italian turned his attention to Inter Milan.

The Italian side have been known to play some stellar football since his arrival. They recently lost to Real Madrid’s rivals Barcelona in the Champions League but they won the hearts of many with their fine display of football during the match. They sit top of Serie A currently, which we all know is a near-impossible feat to achieve.

Conte is a man of strict discipline and he is not one to go by the soft guidelines that managers are expected to adhere to nowadays. He does not take age or sentimentality into the equation; if a player is not good enough to play in his system, then they simply will not play until they can prove themselves.

This is what Real Madrid needed more than ever during their stalemate. If Inter Milan go on to achieve in Italy or even in Europe, then the Real Madrid board should seriously kick themselves over not making a greater effort for Antonio Conte.

Do you think Zinedine Zidane will be able to turn things around at Real Madrid?