Zidane: Not a great manager (yet) but certainly better than we all expected

Real Madrid were in crisis soon after Christmas. A 2-2 draw away at Valencia was seen as too much to handle and Rafa Benitez was forced to leave the club after just seven months in charge. Now, let’s remember, a crisis for Real Madrid isn’t your standard usage of the word. The situation at Valencia is what a real crisis looks like, for example.

Benitez was given an unenviable task in replacing Carlo Ancelotti. It appeared naive to sack the likeable Italian and when pressed for a reason as to why he was being relieved of his duties, Florentino Perez simply responded: “I don’t know.” Well, that made all of us. Fans immediately created a backlash against the running of the club and Benitez, despite being a Madrid native himself, wasn’t seen as an upgrade after unsuccessful spells at Chelsea and Inter Milan, while it ended on a sour note at his previous club Napoli also.

You sense Perez had asked Benitez to create a new side, one which wasn’t so dependent on the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo, and given license to change what he felt was necessary to achieve this. He dropped the ball with his infamous “one of the best” line when asked whether the Portuguese superstar was number one in the world, breaking rank from the corporate standpoint of saying Cristiano’s the best. He mentioned Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and a few others as if they had the same level of importance. I get what he was trying to say but it was naive to risk upsetting a key member of the dressing room so early on.

Of course, Benitez ended up backtracking soon after and declared the Portuguese superstar ‘the best in the world’ but it was too late. Despite only losing three matches, two of them away to Sevilla and Villarreal and a home loss to Barcelona, he was deemed surplus to requirements. That humiliating defeat at the Bernabeu meant there was no way back for Benitez at the club.

Why am I talking about Benitez so much if this is about Zinedine Zidane you ask? Well, it’s because most of the tactical tweaks you see in Zidane’s side were first introduced by Benitez. The dropping of James Rodriguez was met with huge criticism when the Spaniard did it but when Zidane essentially agreed and kept the expensive signing on the bench, it was deemed a masterstroke and not bowing to the pressure of picking players based on their price tag.

The introduction of Casemiro to the midfield was seen as crucial by Zidane, to help shore up a soft centre exposed by the better teams in the division. Yet when Benitez did the same thing he was labelled ‘too defensive’ and that the fans came to see the star players, not grind out results. Ironically when Benitez listened to the grumbles of the fans, or the president himself, it was dropping Casemiro to play James that caused Barcelona to roll them over in Madrid.

However, while the tactical decisions might be almost identical there is one area where Zidane surpasses Benitez in a massive, significant way: man management. The Cristiano gaffe would never have been heard coming out of the mouth of Zidane because he knows how crucial the player is. Even if his influence is waning and injuries might be more commonplace, you need Cristiano in your side and you need him to believe he’s the best - he thrives off it.

The job at Real Madrid isn’t simply about winning, although that helps, it’s about having the support of the squad behind you. Now it isn’t full-proof, as we saw with Ancelotti’s sacking, but it definitely gives you a better chance of sticking around for longer. Zidane got that and the players respected him for it, plus his playing career and status at the club didn’t do any harm either!

To make the comparison between the two coaches again, on the pitch, we initially saw Zidane abandon using Casemiro to add Isco to the centre of the park. The fans wanted goals and entertainment so he felt it made sense to add another goalscoring midfielder to the starting eleven. Early success got the fans onside but a home loss to Atletico, without a natural defensive midfielder, caused Zidane to have a rethink.

The combative Brazilian was reintroduced at the expense of Isco, freeing Luka Modric and Toni Kroos to play their natural game as they knew Casemiro had the defence covered. It’s not a coincidence that since he was restored to the side they’ve only lost once - away to Wolfsburg in the Champions League - and he’s played a key role in both the 16-game LaLiga winning streak as well as the triumph in Europe.

Under Zidane the atmosphere at the club has changed tenfold and it’s a happy environment for the players to be in. James looked set to leave in the summer as Zidane had grown tired of his attitude in training. To the Colombian’s credit he refused to accept this, wanting to prove his doubters wrong, and has recently won over the coach with his displays from the bench.

Of course there are detractors when it comes to Zidane and his record as Real Madrid coach, normally from rival fans who feel he’s “lucky”. Now every manager enjoys a bit of luck, and to win 16 in a row requires fortune as well as ability, but you can’t fluke that sort of run. If there are errors and flaws, teams will exploit them. He beat all of last season’s top seven teams, with the exception of Atletico Madrid, towards the end of last season - including a victory over Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

The jury is still out on whether Zidane is simply the right person at the right time at Real Madrid but to dismiss his achievements is completely unfair. He’s proven most people wrong, even the most optimistic of fans, and deserves the praise and accolades that will come his way. Should they beat Villarreal, he’ll have made LaLiga history. Not bad less than 12 months into a job.

He galvanised the side by refusing to dip into the funds available to him after re-signing Alvaro Morata from Juventus. The media spoke of a big money move for Paul Pogba, a player Zidane himself likes, but it came to nothing as he saw no reason to upset his current squad. Casemiro would’ve likely lost his place should Pogba have arrived and it’s again testament to his man management skills that he chose to back the Brazilian over a ‘Galactico’ signing.

The transfer ban, unless their appeal to CAS is successful, could be a blessing in disguise. Over the years Real Madrid has become a conveyor belt of star signings and squad overhauls but most outsiders felt it was stability which they lacked the most. The ban allows them to use all of their squad, give key members a rest when needed, and those tasked with coming in know they’ll be rewarded should they perform to a high enough standard.

It’s not easy to rule a dressing room full of expensive signings with huge egos while managing expectation levels at an elite club - just ask Jose Mourinho about that. Perhaps the true acid test is how Zidane reacts to a bump in the road, as they’ll be one or two without a doubt, but he can only be judged on what he’s achieved to date - and he’s been pretty much flawless.