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Former Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello believes Zinedine Zidane is the man to replace Rafa Benitez at the club.

Benitez, who was only appointed in the summer, is under huge pressure having seen his side lose three league games already – to Barcelona, Sevilla and Villarreal – leaving them five points off the pace.

Media reports have suggested Benitez could be given the boot before the end of the season, with Zidane lined up to replace him.

Speaking to Omnisport, Capello, who won two La Liga titles in two spells at the Santiago Bernabeu, said he thinks the Frenchman will take over, but not until the end of the campaign.

He also said he sympathizes with Benitez as no one really know what it’s like to manage such a huge club yet are happy to be critical all the time.

“You need to understand what happened. It is difficult to speak unless you know what happened inside the team and the club. I prefer not to speak about this but it is clear they have difficulties at the moment,” he stated.

“All the people in Spain think the president supports him [Benitez], but it will interesting for Zidane because he manages the second team, which is very important to understand what he needs to do. It’s very different as a manager. It’s possible that he’ll be the next Real Madrid manager. I also think Rafael Benitez will finish the season,” he added.

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Former Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi has slammed Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez and hailed Jose Mourinho saying there are no comparisons between the two.

The Italian World Cup winner played for both managers at Inter as Benitez took over from Mourinho at the San Siro.

Portuguese Mourinho, who was sacked from Chelsea for a second time in his career last week, spent two years in Seria A and won the title, Champions League and Italian Cup. Benitez on the other hand only lasted sixth months before being dismissed.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Materazzi, the man Zinedine Zidane headbutted in the World Cup Final in 2006, said: “Benitez was afraid of his own shadow. He was jealous of the memory of Mourinho. I had a booth with photos of my successes and Benitez forced me to take them down. After we won the [2010 Champions League] final at the Bernabeu, I said to Mou, ‘You’ll leave us with Benitez. I will never forgive you.'”

Discussing Mourinho’s situation now, the ex-centre back said he is still the best coach in the world.

“Mou remains the world’s best. The crisis of the third year is nonsense. At Porto, he won the Champions League in his third season, the first time at Chelsea he was fired in September, which was too soon and with Real Madrid he reached a Champions League semifinal and the Copa del Rey final.”

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Real Madrid trashed Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu as the visitors were down to nine men since the 29th minute.

Rayo played better than Los Blancos during the first 15 minutes and took a 1-2 lead, but Tito’s red card completely changed the game. Real levelled and ended up humiliating Rayo when the referee conceded a controversial penalty and showed Raul Baena a second yellow card.

Rafa Benitez men opened the scored after just four minutes, as Bale assisted Danilo and the Brazilian found a route under Yoel from inside the box.

Rayo came back with two goals in two minutes. Amaya rose to meet a corner and angled a perfect header past Navas, and Jozabed also brilliantly headed home after meeting a cross from Pablo Hernandez.

The Santiago Bernabeu fans had started booing when things got better for Los Merengues, as an awful Tito’s tackle on Kroos saw the defender sent off.

Los Blancos levelled as Danilo raced down the right and delivered a super cross onto the head of Bale, who tucked it home from close range.

Five minutes later, Baena brought Ramos down inside the box and the referee conceded the penalty shot, showing the Rayo man a second yellow card. Ronaldo converted to make it 3-2.

Things were pretty easy for the hosts from that moment on. Bale scored the fourth before the break after collecting a pass from James and firing an effort into the bottom.

James also assisted Benzema and Ronaldo. The Frenchman took a touch before finding the bottom corner and scored the fifth goal. Ronaldo netted his second after heading a simple James cross into the back of the net.

Bale scored completed a four-goal haul scoring two more. First he turned a low cross from Ronaldo into the back of the net. Seven minutes later he played a one-two with Rayo defender Quini and finished into the bottom corner.

Benzema closed the score with two more goals. First he settled inside the box before finding the bottom corner. In the last minute, he earned a hat-trick as he fired one into the bottom corner from inside the box.

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Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez has hailed the club’s fans and says they play a huge part, especially at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos take on Rayo Vallecano this afternoon looking to get back on track after a disappointing defeat to Villarreal last weekend.

Fans have been disgruntled after damaging losses to Barcelona and Sevilla too while they have not been convinced the team is going in the right direction.

But at his press conference ahead of the game, the boss spoke about the importance of Madridistas and how the players work hard to make the fans happy.

“The Real Madrid fans know how important they are for us, they always have been for the side and now they have to forget about what else is going on and focus on supporting. The lyrics of La Décima song are “Hala Madrid and nothing else” and that is crucial for us. The fans have and will be crucial in every game,” he commented.

Speaking about the game itself, Benitez said he expects an open game of attacking football.

“It is always necessary to play as well as possible and make the most of our qualities. If we are on form we can beat any opponent. Rayo are a side that goes forward, they play attacking and open football. Therefore we have to be attentive in defence and make the most of our quality in attack,” he stated.

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The latest Real Madrid transfer rumours include Los Blancos planning a move for Cesc Fabregas, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United fighting over James Rodriguez signing, and a couple of Italian giants showing an interest in Toni Kroos.

Barcelona-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo has claimed Fabregas might be close to signing for the Santiago Bernabeu side, following Jose Mourinho’s dismissal from Chelsea. Florentino Perez wants to get a benefit from the chaos at Stamford Bridge and bring the former Barca midfielder.

Los Merengues had negotiated with Fabregas a few years ago, when Ramon Calderon was the president and the Spanish footballer was playing at Arsenal. Yet, Cesc ended up returning to Barcelona. The player’s current market value is 50 million euros, but Florentino Perez would surely have to offer more in order to convince Roman Abramovich.

Fabregas signing could be funded by selling James Rodriguez, who is in the wish-list of Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United. British newspaper The Independent has claimed the French club are willing to make a crazy bid to sign the Colombian in January.

Louis Van Gaal has also reportedly requested United directors to try to bring Rodriguez to Manchester. However, neither United nor PSG seem to have serious chances of convincing both Florentino Perez and James.

Inter Milan and Juventus interested in Toni Kroos

Italian newspapers have reported that Inter Milan and Juventus are interested in signing Toni Kroos. The Germany international has been replaced by Casemiro in various occasions these season and many believe it is time for the Brazilian to become the guaranteed starter, leaving Kroos in the bench.

That situation does not please the German, who could start thinking of leaving Madrid. Inter and Juve dream of taking advantage of this to seduce Kroos and bring him to Italy. Yet, should he leave Madrid, it seems like Kroos’ first choice would be the Premier League.

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Real Madrid hope that Rayo Vallecano’s weak defence will present them with the perfect chance to enjoy a goal fest and make fans forget about the recent blow against Villarreal.

Rafa Benitez is expected to display his best starting eleven, including Toni Kroos, who has recovered on time from a bout of flu. The Germany international will most likely pair in midfield with Luka Modric, sending Casemiro back to the bench.

Pepe and Sergio Ramos will remain the centre-back pair, as Raphael Varane is still on the sidelines through injury. Daniel Carvajal has not recovered on time either, so Danilo will feature at right-back.

Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo will form the usual forward line and they will have a good opportunity to improve their scoring record, since Rayo is the team that concedes the most goals in La Liga.

Yet, the visitor’s manager Paco Jemez has warned his team will play against Los Blancos as they would against any other side, with the possession-based style and their usual attacking mindset.

Jemez will miss goalkeepers Tono and Cobeno, and midfielder Patrick Ebert. Left-back Razvan Rat is a doubt with a muscle tear. The most important loss for Rayo will be defender Diego Llorente, who is on loan from Real Madrid and a clause in his contract prevents him from playing against Los Blancos.

Possible line-ups:

Real Madrid: Navas; Danilo, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, James Rodriguez; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.

Rayo Vallecano: Yoel; Tito, Ze Castro, Amaya, Nacho; Trashorras, Baena; Lass, Jozabez, Bebe; Guerra.

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Former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise says Real Madrid must stick with Rafa Benitez as he is an ‘amazing manager’.

Benitez has come under fire in recent weeks after defeats to Sevilla, Barcelona and Villarreal in the league left Los Blancos off the pace. All season long, there have been doubts about his style of play, with many fans unhappy at taking a more defensive approach than playing more attacking football.

To make matters worse, reports in the media in Spain has suggested Benitez has had disagreements with a number of senior players including Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos.

“It’s such a shame to see him struggling in Madrid, as he is such an amazing person,” Riise told FourFourTwo.

And he added: “I met him in Oslo, when Madrid were there playing a friendly. He took me to the dressing room and we had a chat. He was so excited, and he is a so great to work with – you can talk to him as a person. I hope he can turn it around, he is good enough to, but Madrid is Madrid.

“They have to stick with him. Once he has all his players back fit, then you will see what a talented manager he really is.”

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Carlo Ancelotti would be a perfect replacement to take over from Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, according to Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Ex-Barcelona boss Guardiola is expected to leave the Allianz Arena at the end of the season with Manchester City the favourites to give him his next job in the Premier League.

And Carlo Ancelotti, who coached Real Madrid for two years, is expected to be high up the list of candidates to take over at the Bundesliga champions.

Speaking to Bild, Hitzfield, an ex-Bayern manager himself, said the Italian would be a great choice to take over.

“Ancelotti would be a great fit for Bayern. He had success everywhere and won the Champions League three times. On this level it is very important the players know what their manager is capable of. And it is important for the club, too. A Bayern coach has to be well respected,” he said.

And he continued: “Guardiola is a pioneer, a revolutionary. He crated football in a new way. For example, he invented a three-man defence with only one centre-back. Ancelotti is more of a clever tactician. His football is a little different, it is not total attack and pressing.

“He does not stick to his system no matter what. He can adjust his style to the opponent. With Real he played attacking-minded in general, but against Bayern he looked for the counter.”

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Italian clubs Juventus and Inter Milan are keen on signing Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos in the summer, reports suggest.

According to Fichajes.net, the two Seria A sides will battle it out for the World Cup wining midfielder, who has found life tough under Rafa Benitez so far this season.

Juventus want to add more creativity to their midfield and see Kroos as the perfect partner to Sami Khedira in the middle of the park. Khedira spent four years at the Santiago Bernabeu before completing a free transfer to the Old Lady in the summer.

Inter, meanwhile, are still lacking spark in their team having sold Mateo Kovacic to Los Blancos earlier this year, and see Kroos as the man to add than invention into their starting eleven.

The 26-year-old joined Real in the summer of 2014 after helping Germany lift the World Cup in Brazil. He arrived from Bayern Munich where he has won the Champions League and Bundeliga among others. In his first season in Madrid he helped the 10-time Champions League winners to success in the European Super Cup and World Club Cup.

Since the arrival of Benitez, he has not featured as regularly as he would have liked and his form has taken a dip.

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Florentino Perez, Real Madrid president

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insists he was right to sack Carlo Ancelotti at the end of last season.

The much loved Italian guided the club to the Champions League and Copa del Rey in the first of his two years in charge. And despite winning the European Super Cup and World Club Cup, he was dismissed in June for failing to land any of the major honours.

At the time of his sacking, Perez was embarrassed by a journalist who asked him for the exact reasons behind the decision to get rid of Ancleotti, only for him to look down awkwardly and mumble “I don’t know”.

This season, under new boss Rafa Benitez, Real have been underwhelming in general. They sit third in the table, five points behind Atletico de Madrid and Barcelona. They were thrashed by Los Cules at home last month and have also lost to Sevilla and Villarreal.

Speaking to Cadena Ser, Perez was firm in his belief that he was right to let Ancelotti go though.

“Since January, we’ve experienced a deterioration. We needed a new impetus. Atletico knocked us out of the Copa del Rey, then we were almost eliminated from the Champions League by Schalke.

“We’ve had a problem since January. I noticed we were suffering from wear, although I still have a lot of affection for Ancelotti,” he commented.

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