17th managerial change 

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Former full-back Álvaro Arbeloa has taken over as Real Madrid interim manager following the departure of Xabi Alonso this Monday. The former Spain international is the 17th managerial change at the club under President Florentino Pérez during his two spells as President of Los Blancos. Arbeloa had been the Castilla coach since the summer and has spent his entire coaching career in Real Madrid’s youth academy.

As a player, Arbeloa played for the team between 2009 and 2016, playing 238 official matches and winning eight trophies, including two European Cups. With the Spanish national team, the former defender also won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships in his 56 international appearances.

Real Madrid: 17 changes on the bench under Florentino Pérez

The coaching position under Florentino Pérez has undergone numerous changes in the president’s 23 seasons, and has become synonymous as one of the hardest jobs in football. Thus, in his first spell – between 2000 and 2006 – and from 2009 to the present, the president has accumulated a total of 17 changes in the dugout. He has had 15 coaches, although several of them have repeated the position more than once, such as Carlo Ancelotti and Zinédine Zidane.

In chronological order, the managers have been: Vicente del Bosque, Carlos Queiroz, José Antonio Camacho, Mariano García Remón, Vanderley Luxemburgo and Juan Ramón López Caro for the period between 2000 and 2006. Since 2009, eight other coaches have passed through Real Madrid: Manuel Pellegrini, José Mourinho, Ancellotti, Zidane, Rafael Benítez, Julen Lopetegui, and Santiago Solari. After the Italian came Alonso and now Arbeloa.