REUTERS/Juan Medina
The job was hard enough before Julen Lopetegui conspired to make it harder.
Few coaches of Real Madrid have endured as arduous an introduction with the Spaniard sacked from the national team just days before the start of the World Cup.
His new employers might have won the Champions League for the second year in succession but they were hopeless domestically as an aging forward line struggled to compete with a rampant Barcelona.
The squad needs investment and the following five players should be top of the shopping list.