Does Zinedine Zidane have what it takes to succeed at Real Madrid?

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Zinedine Zidane is a footballing legend. His name is one of a select few that can be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Cryuff, Pelé and Maradona, there is no doubt about that. As a player, he is a hero nowhere more than the Santiago Bernabeu, where he was worshipped as the star Galactico in his five year spell there between 2001 and 2006. As a result, he was identified as the obvious choice when Real Madrid decided they wanted to follow, and hopefully emulate, the Pep Guardiola model at Barcelona.

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Guardiola was a legend at the Camp Nou as a player, leaving in the final years of his career to gain knowledge of the game abroad, he almost even nearly signed for now League 2 side Portsmouth, before returning as a coach. He started off with the B side, who play in the Spanish league’s equivalent of the Football League. After success there; and impressing more than Jose Mourinho on interview, he was given the Barcelona job once Franck Rijkaard left in 2008. The idea was for Zidane to start with Real Madrid Castilla; their B team, and work his way up.

The plans began in 2010, although they were poorly thought out and executed in a similar manner. Brought in as a “technical advisor” to José Mourinho, he was banished by the Portuguese head coach, before returning in 2013 as first a “sporting advisor”, and then assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti. In 2014, he took on the role of manager at Castilla. The first faults with the plan were technical obstacles. Zidane simply did not have the qualifications to manage at that level. He was forced to first register as an assistant coach; while effectively still being the manager, and then eventually banned from involvement altogether for three months, although this was overturned on appeal. Two years later, he took over as manager of Real Madrid from Rafa Benitez’s sacking on January 4th this year, amid a consensus that it would only be a temporary measure and it was a little too early for Zidane’s opportunity.

Now, with stars such as Gareth Bale coming out in support for Zidane staying long term, the questions are being asked if that would be a good move or not. The truth is, in my opinion, that it isn’t. Zidane is not yet ready for a job as big as Real Madrid and moreover, now is not the right time.

The general reaction to such a statement is obvious – “But he won the clasico! His tactical mastermind led them to victory against one of the best club sides in history!” Some of this is of course correct, and whilst he did win the Clasico, it was not a unique, original, tactical mastermind, and there was an awful lot of luck involved. So, why was it not a master-class in tactics? For starters, for the first hour of the Clasico, Real Madrid were distinctly average. Their game plan was to stay compact and defensive and not concede, attacking with long diagonal balls forward, but they had little success. After that, Barcelona scored and Real Madrid then woke up and went for it. Their tactics were good; and clearly worked, playing long counter-attacking balls in behind Jordi Alba and Dani Alves whenever they broke forward, but were nonetheless nothing original. The only difference to most other sides was that Real Madrid were lining up with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale out wide, which is better than Barcelona will face in almost any other game.

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One of the biggest praises of Zidane was his decision to play Casemiro in a holding role, leaving James Rodriguez and Isco on the bench. The Madrid based media have lauded it as genius, but the truth is that this was exactly what Rafa Benitez wanted to do in the game that eventually turned out to be a 4-0 defeat at the Bernabeu. Benitez intended to play Casemiro to nullify the threat of Messi, Suarez and Neymar, but under heavy pressure from president Florentino Perez, he was left with little choice but to play the so called ‘Florentino XI’ with the Galactico James Rodriguez; who was eventually subbed off for the other star left on the bench by Zidane, Isco. The technically gifted Spaniard was then in fact sent off in the home tie. The choice to play Casemiro made perfect sense, as he sat deep and was aided by the decision of Luis Enrique to allow Lionel Messi to play in a more central role, perfectly fitting into Zidane’s game plan. The fledgling French manager did well, but it was from the masterpiece that some are making out. He may well be the first Real Madrid manager to win his first Clasico in many a year, but take a look at the last two Real Madrid managers to win their first Clasico – Carlos Quieroz and Bernd Schuster – neither lasted more than 12 months in the hot seat.

If you look at his tenure for more than one game, it is clear to see where they have struggled. Their side has several key problems, most of which Zidane is not ready to deal with. The first is the poor away form of his side, who have struggled to draws at Betis and Malaga, and narrowly scraped fortunate wins at Granada and Las Palmas. In all of these games, they have seemed frustrated and lacking ideas, which will concern a man who was once so creative as a player. In the Champions League, Real Madrid conceded two goals in the first 25 minutes of a tie in the competition for the first time ever against Wolfsburg. Whilst putting five or six goals at the Bernabeu against the likes of Deportivo, Espanyol and Celta de Vigo is very impressive, home form alone will not win titles, as the club’s impending Champions League status could testify to.

Another issue is that the side is defensively weak. Sergio Ramos has been out injured on and off throughout the campaign; as has Raphael Varane, while Pepe spends as much time suspended as he does playing, leaving only fourth choice Nacho. Their figures for goals conceded this season make for fairly grim reading, having let in 14 goals at the Bernabeu, more than five other sides in a league where they outspend every other team. Zidane; an attacking midfielder as a player, has showed no signs of sealing this leaky defence, keeping only five clean sheets in his fifteen games in charge, and failing to keep it tight at the back against any of the three sides they have played that are currently sitting in the relegation zone in La Liga.

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The defence is just one sign of a greater problem – the need for an overhaul of the squad. This Real Madrid side is certainly expensive, with ‘transfrmarkt’ estimating it’s value at well over £650 million, but is hugely unbalanced. In the role of attacking midfield, you can easily name Kroos, Isco, Kovacic, James Rodriguez, Bale, Jese, Vazquez, Cristiano Ronaldo, possibly even the likes of Modric or Benzema if push came to shove. Yet, the squad has only one recognised left back, Marcelo, and as mentioned previously, four centre-backs. Casemiro is the only real holding midfield player, with Zidane; like Benitez, repeatedly trying the square peg in round hole that is Kroos or Modric holding the fort. The squad needs to be rebuilt, and whilst Zidane’s name may catch the eye, he lacks the contacts and more importantly the potential for development that the likes of Pep Guardiola or Carlo Ancelotti can boast.

Thus far, Zidane has done a remarkably good job of managing the various egos within this squad, but to be successful in the long term, he must recognise that Cristiano will one day no longer be the star man, that Bale could be better suited as a number 10, that maybe even Sergio Ramos’ naivety in picking up a red card in the Clasico is not what his side needs as a leader and captain. Whilst this season this may be fairly easy for Zidane; as most Madridistas have accepted that the league is now unachievable and they have been excluded from the cup, challenging such big names as a rookie manager will certainly be a difficult task.

Zidane; just like any manager though, has to learn his trade somewhere, so why not now? Why not at Real Madrid? The answer is two words – Florentino Perez. The controversial president looks set to somehow survive this season, despite numerous calls for his resignation, and rumours remain that he will call elections early in the summer. Such an environment is not conducive for Zidane to establish himself. What he clearly needs is the full support; both financially and morally, of his board and his club. Undoubtedly, Zidane is one of few figures with universal support from the crowd, but this is a crowd who will quickly turn against even the greatest of heroes, and with boardroom changes and constant uncertainty, he will not be able to fulfill his potential. Should Perez stay; whilst he is a Zizou fan, he is also insistent on the Galactico system of signing and playing expensive, attacking players. Will that suit Zidane’s style, and would it really help him to rebuild the squad? Should Perez go, a new president could easily favour a more experienced and established name, and not provide the support that Zidane requires, particularly with such big egos in the dressing room who can easily oust a manager, as Rafa Benitez learnt to his expense earlier this season.

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Zinedine Zidane; more than anything, needs to establish himself. The last five months of this season have given him the chance to start that, but he is far from the finished article and is not yet ready for the complex and difficult challenges which Real Madrid will face this summer and in the coming season. By working with a more experienced manager, or even plying his trade elsewhere in the short term, he can learn and come back ready; as Luis Enrique has done at Barcelona, via a managerial detour in Rome and at Celta de Vigo amongst others. In a few years, it seems likely that Barcelona’s next cycle will be coming to an end; their line-up in the Clasico had an average age of almost 29, while their squad as a whole has an average age of almost 28. They are currently at their peak, but that will soon pass, so Zidane and Real Madrid must decide whether they will remain patient and help the Frenchman to rebuild his own side to challenge and eventually take Barcelona’s crown, or seek a different option. With Perez’s record – Zidane is his 11th manager in 13 years over two spells at the club – you wouldn’t bet on them remaining patient.

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