Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino is a shock candidate to take over the Santiago Bernabeu hotseat should Carlo Ancelotti be fired at the end of the season.
In a somewhat peculiar report by Spanish website El Confidencial, the 41 year old Argentine, capped 20 times by his country, is on a three man shortlist drawn up by Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez in case Ancelotti’s services are dispensed of at the end of the season.
The other two believed to be the list are Athletic Bilbao head coach Ernesto Valverde, who directed his side to a 1-1 draw against ten man Real, and current Real Madrid director of football Zinedine Zidane.
However Pochettino would be a big surprise appointment for Los Blancos, as for any critic would look at the fact he has only managed two clubs, both not in European competition and nowhere near the size of Real.
That would be very harsh on the Murphy-born manager though, who enjoys a growing reputation as a boss, having dealt with high amounts of debt and departures of key men at Espanyol, before keeping Southampton up and leading them to a top half place so far, allthewhile earning plaudits for his trademark high pressing style.
