As expected, Spanish champion Real Madrid on Monday named former Getafe coach Bernd Schuster as the club’s new head coach. Schuster’s appointment paves the way for an influx of new signings at the Bernabeu, which will likely be headed by the arrival of Chelsea’s Arjen Robben and, maybe, AC Milan’s Kaka.
Schuster’s succession of former coach Fabio Capello has been shrouded in controversy. The Italian tactician was sacked even after turning the Merengues into a well-oiled attacking machine at the end of last season. Reports claim Real had signed a possibly illegal agreement with Schuster guaranteeing either side nearly $1.5 million in compensation if Schuster did not become Real coach at the end of last season. It’s uncertain the extent to which that agreement, signed sometime between February and April, was responsible for Capello’s sacking. Schuster, a former player at the club, now becomes the eighth Real Madrid coach in four years.
“I know what I’ve let myself in for,” the 47-year-old German said. “I know the club and its philosophy. ‘I’ve been at clubs before where it wasn’t possible for them to demand that you win trophies but here you have to win and play a style of football that the fans enjoy.” Reuters reports that Schuster had to pay $654,000 to buy out the rest of his contract with Getafe.