While Álvaro Arbeloa, as Real Madrid’s new head coach, has to digest the embarrassing 2-3 defeat against second division club Albacete, one of the club’s legends may be wondering all the more why he isn’t coaching the Spanish record champions.
Raúl has long hoped for the chance to coach the club he loves. He coached various Royal youth teams for seven years – most recently the second team until the summer. He was succeeded by Arbeloa, who was promoted to head coach of Los Blancos just six months later. And so that he can now live the dream that remained unfulfilled for Raúl.
Raúl even won the UEFA Youth League with the U19s in 2020. In 2021 and 2023 he narrowly missed promotion to the second division with the second team – Real Madrid Castilla.
Raúl offended after Alonso signing?
When someone else, Zinédine Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti and, last summer, Xabi Alonso, was given the top job for the third time, Raúl seemed to have lost patience with those in charge at Los Blancos. The former world-class striker left the Madrilenians at his own request.
The words his club chose to say goodbye could hardly have been greater. “Real Madrid was proud to have one of the greatest legends in our history and in world football as the coach and supervisor of our youth team,” the statement said at the time.
Raúl himself wrote on Instagram at the time: “Today I informed Real Madrid of my decision to end my stage. […] A new stage as a coach is now opening up away from this club – and with the conviction that one day I will return to my home.”
Where this new stage will take place is still unknown. Even seven months after the end of his time in Madrid, the football legend is without a new job.
Rumors about a possible job with the first division relegated CD Leganés have not been confirmed. There are said to have been job offers from FC Villarreal and Union Berlin as early as 2023.
Arbeloa is living Raúl’s dream
Now that Raúl’s direct successor at the Real Reserve has been appointed by those responsible to coach the professionals, one question in particular arises: Has the club legend gambled away?
Almost no one would have assumed that Alonso wouldn’t even last a season with the Royals after his titles with Bayer Leverkusen.
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Or was it suggested to Raúl by the club management that he initially had no future with the professionals at Real Madrid? Just a few years ago it had sounded completely different.
“He certainly has what it takes to be the coach in the future, I have no doubts about that. But at this moment we needed someone with more experience, which Raúl is only just gaining year after year. He will certainly be one of our men for the future,” said club president Florentino Pérez about Raúl in June 2021.
Why are Raúl’s successes not recognized?
The fact that Real’s youth department is producing more talent and more sales is “largely thanks to Raúl’s daily work in Valdebebas,” wrote the Spanish newspaper Mark.
Either way, the Madrilenians could have approached the unemployed club legend last week.
If Arbeloa doesn’t get the ball rolling in the coming games, club president Pérez could perhaps take this step.
