Real Madrid legend and World Cup-winner Vicente del Bosque has back Castilla coach Raul Gonzalez to take over the senior job once Carlo Ancelotti departs.
For a lengthy period, it was considered that Raul would be the successor to Ancelotti, and he has now into his fifth year as manager of Real Madrid Castilla. Yet his stock has fallen over the past year, with the likes of Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa considered ahead of him in the pecking order.
Del Bosque has plentiful experience of the pressures at the Santiago Bernabeu, and was asked whether he thought Raul was ready for the job.
“We are all very fond of him, because we have hugged him since he was 14, when he came from Atleti,” del Bosque told Siete, via Diario AS.
“He is a person who has that competitive gene and I do see him prepared. He has personality, character, knowledge… he is perfectly capable. Without a doubt he must be one of the candidates for that bench. In fact, Madrid has not done badly with players or coaches who have come through the academy. They are people who feel the shirt, who understand the club.”
Raul was in talks with Villarreal over a position there, but lost out in the interview process to Pacheta. It does appear that he will first have to leave the club in order to convince Florentino Perez that he has what it takes to manage at the Santiago Bernabeu. If Ancelotti does leave in the coming summer, Raul will likely have his answer for certain.
