Harsh reality awaits Solari
Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari said he would not give up, but the decision will probably not be his to make.
Zinedine Zidane earned the right to decide himself and chose to leave last summer.
"It would have been difficult for me to win again next year," Zidane said in May.
"There have been good times, but also difficult times. I do not forget that. I want to end with Real Madrid when everything is going well."
Ten months on, Zidane's exit speech feels like a warning. Real's season is up in smoke after six days in which they were eliminated from the Copa del Rey, deemed irrelevant in La Liga and humiliated in the Champions League.
"I did not come to the club in such a difficult time to give up," said Solari, after a 4-1 defeat by Ajax Amsterdam sent his side out in the last 16 yesterday morning (Singapore time).
In the league and cup, they were proven to be clearly worse than Barcelona, their greatest rivals, and, in Europe, inferior to Ajax, the club that are supposed to supply the elite not outplay them in their own back yard, reported AFP.
Solari's days are almost certainly numbered, with several names emerging as his replacement.
Former Real president Ramon Calderon said former Real coach Jose Mourinho has already been approached by the club, while Mauricio Pochettino's name has also been mentioned.
FIRST OPTION
Calderon told Sky Sports News: "I have no doubt Mourinho is the first option for the president. He's been called in the last weeks.
"It was when Zinedine Zidane left, Mourinho was with Manchester United and he said it was not the right moment to come back but, maybe, now he's free."
Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, however, believes Mourinho won't come in, saying on beIN Sports: "I can't believe that he would step in now, there's nothing to gain, there's nothing to win."
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