Real Madrid Considered Itoudis as a Coaching Option Before Keeping Scariolo

Spanish reports say Real Madrid briefly considered replacing Sergio Scariolo after the club’s early exit from the Spanish league playoffs. The discussion came after Florentino Perez won the presidential election and, hours later, chose to keep Scariolo despite the team finishing the season without a trophy for the first time in 15 years, since the end of Ettore Messina’s spell in 2011.

The trigger for the internal shake-up was the shock quarterfinal elimination by Tenerife. That result led to executive changes, including Juan Carlos Sanchez returning to the club and Sergio Rodriguez being dismissed from management duties.

According to Marca, the previous club leadership had suggested letting Scariolo go and floated several replacement candidates, among them Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Dimitris Itoudis. Also on the list were Pablo Laso and Tiago Splitter, who coached Deni Avdija in Portland.

Perez ultimately backed a second chance for the Italian coach, who still has two years left on his contract. Firing him would require compensation, and the same would apply to most of his broader coaching staff, although some assistants could remain for next season.