Life After Real Madrid

1/11 Vicente del Bosque (1999-2003): The mustachioed grandfather of Spanish football was shown the Bernabeu backdoor one day after securing a 29th Liga title for the club. After a brief and unremarkable spell with Besiktas, he was handed the reins of the Spanish national team in 2008 and led La Furia Roja to World Cup and European glory in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Del Bosque retired from management in 2016, cementing his status as a national treasure, as well as a stain on Florentino Perez’s record.

2/11 Carlos Queiroz (2003-04): After getting the ax in 2004, Queiroz, with his tail between his legs, returned to his previous role as Alex Ferguson’s righthand man, helping the Scot lead Manchester United to Premier League glory in 2007. Since then, the 65-year-old has earned his keep as an international manager, first with his native Portugal (2008-10) and then with Iran (2011-present), qualifying for three World Cups along the way. Not too shabby.

3/11 Jose Antonio Camacho (2004): A serial winner with Los Blancos during his playing days, in his second tenure as manager, Camacho lasted a mere six games, calling it quits after deciding a Galatico-filled locker room wasn’t for him. Osasuna provided the meat-and-potatoes type of players he was looking for in 2008, however, he was relieved of his duties in 2011 with the Navarrese side on the wrong side of the drop zone. Camacho’s most recent gig was with Gabon, taking the Panthers to a third place finish in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations group stage before getting the boot in September 2018.

4/11 Mariano Garcia Remon (2004): Like Camacho, who he replaced, Remon was a decorated former Madrid player who enjoyed a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tenure as the club’s first team coach. A one-season fling with second division Cadiz (2006-07) was all the ex-goalkeeper could muster after his flirtation with the ‘big time’.

5/11 Vanderlei Luxemburgo (2004-05): When you look up the term “journeyman coach” in the dictionary, you’ll find an image of Vanderlei Luxemburgo. After receiving his marching orders from Madrid’s front office in 2005, the Brazilian has managed a total of nine different clubs - some more than once! Despite his penchant for an early exit, Luxemburgo has tasted his fair share of success, winning a record five Campeonato Brasileiro titles.

6/11 Juan Ramon Lopez Caro (2005-06): Since feeling Florentino’s moccasins on his backside in 2006, Lopez Caro has taken charge of nine different teams, including Levante, Spain’s under 21s, and the Saudi Arabia national team. At the time of writing, the 55-year-old is calling the shots at Shenzhen FC, in the China’s League One division.

7/11 Juande Ramos (2008-09): The former Tottenham boss was the first manager to face the chopping block in Florentino Perez’s second spell as the Los Merengues chief executive (a 6-2 defeat in El Clasico will do that to a manager). He got back on the managerial horse right after with a 47-day reign at CSKA before joining Ukrainian outfit Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, who he would later take to court over unpaid wages. Let’s face it, that kind of thing wouldn’t happened with Daniel Levy.

8/11 Manuel Pellegrini (2009-10): A club record haul of 96 points in the 2009-10 campaign wasn’t enough to save Pellegrini’s managerial hide at the Bernabeu. The Chilean has kept busy ever since though, taking Malaga to within seconds of a Champions League semi-final, leading Manchester City to a second Premier League title, dipping his toes in the Chinese Super League, and, now, sorting out the mess left behind by Slaven Bilic at West Ham United.

9/11 Jose Mourinho (2010-13): In case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s the lowdown on what the self-proclaimed Special One has been up since falling out of favor with the Madrid hierarchy: In 2013 he returned to Chelsea, won a Premier League title two years later, and then left “by mutual consent” a year after that having alienated the entire squad and shipping out the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Juan Mata, and Romelu Lukaku. Now into his third season (we all know how they end!) at Manchester United, the Portuguese has alienated the entire squad and made self-pitying press conferences an art form.

10/11 Rafa Benitez (2015-16): Having failed to win over Ronaldo and co. with his analytical and, God forbid, tactical approach to the game, Benitez returned to the warm embrace of Northern England, leading Newcastle United back to the promised land of Premier League football and, miraculously, keeping the team in the top-flight in the 2016-17 season, despite almost zero investment in his squad. Things haven’t started too brightly for the Magpies this time around, but the softly-spoken Spaniard remains a fan favorite at St. James Park. Having Mike Ashley as your chairman helps.

11/11 Zinedine Zidane (2016-18): Zizou: the one that got away. The Frenchman guided a locker room full of egos to three-straight Champions League titles before riding off into the sunset and watching the team implode from afar.