Zinedine Zidane arrived to the Real Madrid bench on January 2016 to replace Rafael Benítez, who was sacked after drawing against Valencia. In only one year and a half, he has achieved to put his team in two European finals. He is still facing heavy criticism but the titles speak by themselves.
Real Madrid will play back to back Champions League finals 57 years later when they travel to Cardiff on the 3rd of June to face Juventus. The goal is defend the title conquered at San Siro, when no one has won the title twice in a row since the Champions League was established, back in 1992.
This is the triumph of a great squad, as Zidane said in press conference after getting the ticket at Vicente Calderón stadium, but we should give all the credit to the coach, Zinedine Zidane. The manager arrived to the role with no experience with a top-flight club, and he’s able to lead a group of stars to win titles.
Besides, the group is happy and they are all working in the same direction. Zidane is able to change the players completely in La Liga and in the Champions League with success. James Rodríguez, Asensio or Morata shine in La Liga, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo, Modric or Marcelo highlight in Europe.
Zidane has also been able to speak with Cristiano Ronaldo and convince the Portuguese star that he’s not able to play 40 games in a season. The striker is resting in La Liga and his performances are improving in the key games, as he’s shown in the Champions League knock-out stage. The same patience he had with Karim Benzema, who showed yesterday his skills to create the chance that ended up in Isco’s goal.
Real Madrid is not a club of coaches, but of players. However, in Real Madrid history, these profile of managers were the most successful. Miguel Muñoz, Vicente del Bosque, Carlo Ancelotti and now Zinedine Zidane have similar skills. And all of them were able to lift the Champions League trophy. Real Madrid’s competition.
