The arrival of Zinedine Zidane meant also Santiago Hernán Solari’s farewell. Obviously, the return of the most successful manager in Real Madrid modern era has put in second term the dismissal of the Argentinian coach. He won’t be remembered as one of the best manager in the history of the club but he left some positive things for the future.
FIFA Club World Cup Title
Perhaps no one remembers this fact right now, but Solari has touched silverware as manager. The coach was able to win the FIFA Club World Cup in December after beating Al Ain (4-1) in the final. It wasn’t the most brilliant tournament for Los Blancos but at least the reached the goal.
Important Youngsters for the Future
Solari fought against important members of the squad but he left some legacy for the future of the club. Vinicius Junior has been the best thing that has happened to the club until Zidane’s arrival this season. We have to give the credit to Solari. Besides, the manager also bet on Reguilón and Marcos Llorente, who are youngsters that can be used in the future.
A Good Week to Believe
Although everything was vanished after a terrible week at Bernabéu, Real Madrid seemed to be surviving after a turbulent season. Los Blancos played a good game at Camp Nou (1-1) in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals and then they beat (1-3) Atlético Madrid at Wanda Metropolitano. Finally, they got a victory (1-2) at Amsterdam Arena in the Champions League. The team was completely broken when he arrived and, during some moments, it looked like he would be able to change the course of the events.
But during this time we have seen also terrible moments that lead to the end of his contract:
Terrible week
The end of February and the beginning of March meant one of the worst periods in Real Madrid history. Los Blancos lost four games in a row at Santiago Bernabéu against Girona, Ajax and Barcelona twice. That meant the end of the season and the failure of a project. The results also meant the end of Solari’s era.
Unable to Recover the Best Players of the Squad
His confrontation with Isco was, perhaps, one of his tough moments as a manager. Solari decided not to count with the Andalusian playmaker, who was out of the list and on the bench in most of the games. Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos or Marcelo have been playing far far away from their top level. This is the players’ fault, but also the manager’s.
Wrong Decisions in the Line-Up and During the Games
It’s easy to judge after the results of the last games, but it is evident that Solari’s didn’t handle the squad properly. He almost repeated the same line-up in the decisive games against FC Barcelona and Ajax. He never changed the formation even if it was pretty clear that Los Blancos were losing the battle in the midfield against Ajax. Other players like Mariano or Ceballos weren’t used during these games and the team was completely burn.
