Possible contenders for Real Madrid job if Zinedine Zidane is fired

U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, USA - July 31, 2018 Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino [REUTERS/Eric Miller]

Mauricio Pochettino and the legendary Raul Gonzalez are reportedly the two prime candidates to succeed Zinedine Zidane if the Frenchman is given his marching orders at Real Madrid.

The pressure is mounting on Zidane after Madrid's 1-0 home defeat to Cadiz in La Liga on Saturday was followed by a 3-2 loss against Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.

Another defeat in the weekend's El Clasico against bitter rivals Barcelona could see Zidane dismissed by the notoriously impatient Madrid board.

If that is the case all eyes will turn towards his potential successor, and according to Spanish publication AS there are two main targets.

One is former Tottenham boss Pochettino, who has been without a job ever since being sacked by Spurs last November.

The Argentinean is known to have a good relationship with Madrid president Florentino Perez, and was regularly linked with a move to Spain during his time in north London.

Pochettino fluttered his eyelashes towards Madrid again earlier this year, saying in an interview with Marca: "I don't know if I'll ever coach Madrid, but of course it's my dream.

"If it's not the best it's one of the best clubs in the world. I'm no different, everyone has it on their dream list."

Raul, however, is a cult hero with supporters of Los Blancos after he scored 323 goals in 741 appearances over 16 seasons at the club.

Legendary striker Raul Gonzalez [COURTESY]

He is currently manager of Madrid's Castilla reserve team, and his appointment would no doubt be more straightforward than that of Pochettino.

It would also continue their recent tradition of appointing former players, with Madrid's last four managers all having represented the team at at least youth level.

It remains to be seen whether Zidane can turn things around, but a loss against Barcelona would certainly see the knives starting to sharpen, and not many Madrid managers would survive three losses in a row, especially if one came against the old enemy.