Zinedine Zidane left after winning three straight Champions Leagues as coach. He did because he knew, as he always does. He knew things were about to go the way they did. They already were, with Madrid ending up 17 points off of Barcelona in last year's La Liga. They pulled off a miracle of guts, brilliance and blunders (good ol' Karius) to win a third successive Champions League. It was a great moment in Real Madrid's history, a capper for a set of players that made history time and time again. But it was that, a capper. Zidane knew, and Ronaldo leaving (which was basically in the cards the second the Champions League Final ended) did it for sure. Call it hubris for not replacing and refreshing an aging team. Call it just the natural turn of time. But one of the great eras of the sport is over.
I'm not going to put this all on Zidane leaving, and this being a sign of what a brilliant genius he remains, but it is amazing how quickly Madrid's internal politics started getting played out in the open. Other than a few rotation playeres wishing they played more, the Zidane years were such relative calm in the capital. The second he left, and Flo Perez became the main honcho again, it all returned.
I should say this could all change. Ten years ago, after four straight times losing in the Round of 16 in the Champions League, Perez paid a shitload one summer for Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and others. It was the greatest spending spree ever. The first year didn't work too well. Starting in 2011, with the hiring of Jose Mourinho, it all came together, with the first of what would end up being eight straight trips to the Semifinals. Ten years later, with that stream finally ending, Perez may open his checkbook once again, and if he does, things could get resurrected quickly.
But it should be said that while his team was busy winning four Champions League Titles in five years, the most successful period in the modern era of the Competition, Perez did very little to actually improve the team. The biggest signing in that period was James (coming after the first win) who never really found his footing. They had some good young players, all bought on the cheap. They did a nice job adding youngsters after 2017 in Ceballos, Vellejo, Vinicius, etc., but other than Vinicius (who really could be a star) none have made a huge impact. They've been strangely quiet on spending, and that's come home to roost now.
The biggest mistake is thinking they can just easily absorb losing Ronaldo. Despite all the 'tap-in' jokes, the guy scored 50 goals year after year, and was the greatest KO stage UCL performer ever. They lost him, fine, but did nothing to replace him other than hope internal players would pick up the slack. They haven't, and the team has been awful.
It will be interesting to see how coaches them next. Julen Lopetegui was always a weird signing, a guy who cost himself a whole lifetime of jobs to get 14 games at the helm of Madrid. Solari was a strange attempt to recapture the Zidane magic, but just as Solari was no Zidane as a player, might have been even less so as a coach.
In the end, I do go back to Zidane. No team had ever won two Champions Leagues in a row in its current format (started in 1992). Under Zidane, Madrid won three in a row. And not even a week after the third win, Zidane retires. He retired as a player on top (headbutt aside), winning the Golden Ball in the 2006 World Cup. He could have played more. He retired (for now) as a coach on top. He had the foresight just like he had the great vision as a player. He knew what was about to happen to his team, and got ot before it happened.
I saw a lot of pieces laughing at Madrid, but maybe we should take a step back and appreciate what they accomploshed in the five years preceding this one. The UCL is the sports toughest competition because of how much luck can play a factor, but Madrid rose above all that. Guys like Ronaldo, Benzema, Varane, Ramos, Modric, Casemiro, Marcelo, were there for all four. It is amazing how constant their team was through the five years. It couldn't last forever. It didn't, and of course, the two brightest stars in that hourney left before it all came crumbling down.
I'm not going to put this all on Zidane leaving, and this being a sign of what a brilliant genius he remains, but it is amazing how quickly Madrid's internal politics started getting played out in the open. Other than a few rotation playeres wishing they played more, the Zidane years were such relative calm in the capital. The second he left, and Flo Perez became the main honcho again, it all returned.
I should say this could all change. Ten years ago, after four straight times losing in the Round of 16 in the Champions League, Perez paid a shitload one summer for Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and others. It was the greatest spending spree ever. The first year didn't work too well. Starting in 2011, with the hiring of Jose Mourinho, it all came together, with the first of what would end up being eight straight trips to the Semifinals. Ten years later, with that stream finally ending, Perez may open his checkbook once again, and if he does, things could get resurrected quickly.
But it should be said that while his team was busy winning four Champions League Titles in five years, the most successful period in the modern era of the Competition, Perez did very little to actually improve the team. The biggest signing in that period was James (coming after the first win) who never really found his footing. They had some good young players, all bought on the cheap. They did a nice job adding youngsters after 2017 in Ceballos, Vellejo, Vinicius, etc., but other than Vinicius (who really could be a star) none have made a huge impact. They've been strangely quiet on spending, and that's come home to roost now.
The biggest mistake is thinking they can just easily absorb losing Ronaldo. Despite all the 'tap-in' jokes, the guy scored 50 goals year after year, and was the greatest KO stage UCL performer ever. They lost him, fine, but did nothing to replace him other than hope internal players would pick up the slack. They haven't, and the team has been awful.
It will be interesting to see how coaches them next. Julen Lopetegui was always a weird signing, a guy who cost himself a whole lifetime of jobs to get 14 games at the helm of Madrid. Solari was a strange attempt to recapture the Zidane magic, but just as Solari was no Zidane as a player, might have been even less so as a coach.
In the end, I do go back to Zidane. No team had ever won two Champions Leagues in a row in its current format (started in 1992). Under Zidane, Madrid won three in a row. And not even a week after the third win, Zidane retires. He retired as a player on top (headbutt aside), winning the Golden Ball in the 2006 World Cup. He could have played more. He retired (for now) as a coach on top. He had the foresight just like he had the great vision as a player. He knew what was about to happen to his team, and got ot before it happened.
I saw a lot of pieces laughing at Madrid, but maybe we should take a step back and appreciate what they accomploshed in the five years preceding this one. The UCL is the sports toughest competition because of how much luck can play a factor, but Madrid rose above all that. Guys like Ronaldo, Benzema, Varane, Ramos, Modric, Casemiro, Marcelo, were there for all four. It is amazing how constant their team was through the five years. It couldn't last forever. It didn't, and of course, the two brightest stars in that hourney left before it all came crumbling down.
