Report: Real Madrid Contacts Conte as Pressure Builds on Lopetegui
Real Madrid are alleged to have made contact with former Juventus, Italy and Chelsea coach Antonio Conte about the possibility of replacing under-pressure Bernabeu boss Julen Lopetegui.
Ex-Spain coach Lopetegui, who was announced as the successor to three-time Champions League winner Zinedine Zidane just days before the World Cup - costing him his chance to lead La Roja at the tournament - has so far struggled to get results with Los Blancos.
Real have lost three of their last four games in all competitions and are without a win since a narrow 1-0 victory against Espanyol on 22nd September.
Real's form is being billed as a crisis by media throughout Europe, with Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport claiming that Lopetegui now has just three games to save his job, starting with this weekend's La Liga clash with Levante and culminating in the first Clásico of the season against Barcelona.
That leads into the claim that Conte is the man Real have supposedly identified to take over from Lopetegui. It is alleged that Conte was president Florentino Perez's first choice to replace Zidane during the summer, only for the 49-year-old's messy divorce from Chelsea to kill it.
Out of work since finally being sacked by Chelsea in July, a month after Real turned to Lopetegui, Conte is said to be keen on taking a new job. Corriere dello Sport state that Conte feels 'ready', and has apparently let Real know of his availability and is awaiting the 'definitive call' to make the move to Madrid.
A Juventus legend as a player, Conte won three Serie A titles with his former club in only three seasons as coach. He later earned plaudits in charge of the Italian national team and then enjoyed immediate success in England by guiding Chelsea to the Premier League title.
Assuming that Real really are interested in hiring him, they would be hoping for more of the same instant impact to turn their season around.
