Date: 29 Oct 2009 Comments: 0

Real Madrid’s galacticos are not yet turning into a team, and patience is running thin with the new boss Manuel Pelligrini. Despite spending £225m in the summer on such stars as Alonso, Ronaldo and Kaka, Madrid have only won one of their last five matches.

Tuesday night brought their most embarrassing defeat yet when they suffered a 4-0 defeat by third division Alcorcon in the Cup, and Pellegrini has now been given two weeks to turn the team around. The next two matches are a difficult La Liga game against Getafe, and then they face AC Milan in a very important Champions League tie.

Real Madrid were planning for the current sporting director Jorge Valdano to take over from Pelligrini, but he would only consider a short caretaker role while a permanent boss could be found.

Benitez is apparently top of the list along with the ex-Spain boss Luis Aragones. Michael Laudrup and Marco van Basten have also been mentioned, but Madrid are leaning towards a more experienced boss to get the galacticos playing as a team. This makes Benitez a prime candidate, especially as he has worked at Madrid in the past.

Madrid president Florentino Perez has issued a plea to the supporters saying that they can’t expect a new team to start winning straight away.

“I would like to send a message to calm the fans,’”he said. “We have to remember that a lot of new players arrived before the start of the season and this requires a period of adaptation.

“The season is only two months old and we are still trying to create a team.”

It’s okay making public announcements, but Pelligrini needs to worry more about what Perez is saying behind closed doors. If the rumours are true, then Valdano is right now trying to line up the next manager, and given the ongoing problems between Benitez, Hicks and Gillet, he could be making a beeline to Anfield in the near future.