KOMPAS.com – “The best manager in the world has returned to the club,” the president said Real Madrid, Florentino Perez, when announcing the appointment Zinedine Zidane in early March 2019.
Zinedine Zidane took control of the messy Real Madrid.
He replaces Santiago Solari, who was fired after less than five months in charge of Real Madrid.
When Zidane returned to Madrid, Real were third and 12 points behind Barcelona.
Barcelona have also been ousted from the Champions League by Ajax Amsterdam and lost twice in a row at El Clasico against Barca, 0-1 in The Spanish league and the 1-4 defeat in aggregate at the Copa del Rey.
Zinedine Zidane among others brought Real Madrid to the 2016-2017 Spanish League title and the historical achievement of winning three consecutive Champions League titles before resigning in the summer of 2018.
Also read: The Fate of Barcelona, Lose 10 Players and See Real Madrid Champion
After Zidane left, Madrid appointed the Spanish national team coach, Julen Lopetegui, as skipper in the summer of 2018.
The appointment was a mess because it was announced ahead of Lopetegui leading Spain to the 2018 World Cup that he was suspended from his post ahead of the tournament in Russia.
The drama’s full appointment only lasted four and a half months before Castilla’s team coach, Santiago Solari, was appointed to replace him in November.
Zidane’s former teammate also only lasted less than five months in the Madrid captain’s room.
At first, Zidane could not do much to change Madrid’s fortune.
Real Madrid finished the 2018-2019 season in third place with 12 defeats and only 68 points, 19 adrift of champions Barcelona.
Some pandits said that Zidane should not have returned.
Real Madrid’s fortune in the season’s exchange was also bad with Thibaut Courtois, Alvaro Odriozola, Mariano Diaz, and Brahim Diaz unable to justify their respective transfer values.
Seeing this, Zidane immediately held a revolution in the Madrid squad.
Also read: Lionel Messi’s First Words After Real Madrid Wins Spanish League
Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo, Alphonse Areola came with a price tag exceeding 300 million euros in the 2019 summer stock exchange.
Madrid also made a long-term investment by bringing in former Barcelona academy star Takefusa Kubo from FC Tokyo.
However, the start and first half of the 2019-2020 season did not go smoothly for Zidane and Real Madrid.
Despite winning the Spanish Super Cup in January 2020, Real Madrid’s performance in the league is inconsistent.
Madrid drew twice in the first three matches of the season, against Valaldolid and Villarreal.
The inconsistency continued in the first half of the competition including when Serigio Ramos cs were held by Athletic Bilbao 0-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on December 23 and Celta Vigo 2-2 in mid-March.
The club’s most expensive purchase that summer, Eden Hazard, had to pull over because of an injury.
Zidane also faced an uncertain situation with big names in the dressing room, Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez.
Madrid defeat when facing Mallorca, Levante and Real Betis.
The 1-2 defeat against Real Betis on March 9 turned out to be Real Madrid’s last party before LaLiga went on hiatus due to the corona virus pandemic.
The Madrid players underwent an independent quarantine after one of their basketball team players was positively exposed by the corona virus.
Real Madrid are two points behind Barcelona with 11 games left when the Spanish League competition is suspended.
The Madrid players passed three months with uncertainty about the continuation of the competition, including the scenario of seeing Barcelona awarded a title if the Spanish League could not be continued due to a pandemic.
This makes Real Madrid’s energy surge.
Also read: Barcelona’s reasons for letting Lionel Messi of Japan annexed by Real Madrid
Despite having to deal with the disciplinary action of Luka Jovic, who violated the rules of independent quarantine in his homeland in Belgrade and also in Spain, Madrid’s squad raged after the competition resumed.
Zinedine Zidane’s team won 10 games in a row, including six clean sheet after lockdown.
Karim Benzema became a monster with seven goals from 10 matches after LaLiga started again.
Celebration of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema’s goal against Villarreal on Friday (7/17/2020) early morning hrs at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium. –
The return of Marco Asensio from a long injury also lifted the morale of Los Blancos’s men, especially when he scored from his first touch in the match against Mallorca.
Zinedine Zidane himself has now won 11 trophies as a manager even though his coaching career is only 4.5 years old, including a 10-month break.
No other coach has won more trophies in the world of football since 2016 than he did.
Zidane’s 11 trophies beat 10 trophies won by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and 8 Max Allegri trophies.
Zinedine Zidane’s role was undeniable in front of the Madrid players.
After lifting the Spanish League championship trophy, Sergio Ramos immediately praised Zidane who he said held the most important role in the success of Real Madrid this time.
“This title is the result of our hard work. We are very entitled because we won 10 consecutive wins,” Ramos was quoted as saying on the beIN Sports website.
“Zidane is the key to this success. He is the captain of the Real Madrid ship,” Ramos added.
“He has a lot of trust in all players and we feel protected. He is a unique coach,” Ramos added.
–
