Zidane's Latest Triumph

There's so many absurd stats that are floating around Zinedine Zidane's ridiculous run as a manager of Real Madrid. The most eye-popping might be that once every 19 games, he wins a trophy. My favorite is that he's won 11 of 18 competitions or trophies he's competed for - and that counts two 'losses' in La Liga when he took over mid-year - the first of which they came within a hair of catching and passing Barcelona.

It is not outrageous at this point to wonder where Zidane's place is as a manager, and wonder thirty years from now, if he's seen as a greater manager or player. Sounds absurd - he's a pantheon level player who accomplished everything in his career with a magician-like quality that is nearly impossible to describe. He's scored in World Cup Finals, Champions League Finals, and has a highlight reel on Youtube that compares with anyone, especially if you account for grace, passing, and sheer lunacy. And yet... he might be a better nager.

There was long questions in his first (wildly successful) reign about how much credit Zidane should actually get. He wasn't a noted tactical genius - especially since he didn't claim to be as other noted tactical geniuses often do (Pep, Mourinho, Wenger, etc.). His Real Madrid teams were already strong with stars, inheriting a group that had made the Champions League Semifinals five straight years (winning in 2014). He largely got plaudits as a man manager, able to navigate the egos in the locker-room, and more importantly the egos in the board-room with aplomb. 

Zidane had great teams, and great results, but also had Ronaldo scoring 40-50 goals a year, including a ridiculous run to close out the 2016-17 season - especially in their Champions League win. That year was the pinnacle the first time in over fifty years Madrid won the league and Champions League in the same season. They did so with a stupid deep team, routinely playing nearly full 'B' sides in the second half of the year in La Liga. The 'B' side featured Nacho, Pepe, Kovacic, Bale, James, Vazquez, Asensio, Morata. It was absurd. 

Then it went awry in his final season - a season which of course the team won a third straight Champions League crowd. They were nowhere in the league however, finishing a distant third (though their underlying numbers more or less as good as winner Barcelona), and for some weird reason Zidane's era Madrid and Zidane himself, was branded as something as a disappointment in league play. It never really made sense. Zidane's Madrid won the league once, and came a point away from winning it in his first year - despite being 8 points back when Zidane took over in January. They had one bad season and somehow were brandished some Champions League-only specialists.

That's why Zidane's biggest goal which he openly stated, for this year was to win back the league. And they did. And they did by overcoming some serious odds. There was no Ronaldo to score loads of goals. There were injuries abound, be it to their big-name signing (Eden Hazard), or young up-and-comers (Marco Asensio) or everyone in between. It was comical how many injuries they dealt with early on, but Zidane kept them focused. And then after the break, focus turned into a steely, calm, dominance.

Ten straight wins to win the league. Not only did they win the games they never trailed. Zidane so often in his first run talked about struggling - not in terms of results, but in terms of the joy that comes from the agony of playing through tough moments. Mental strength, togetherness, commitment. All these adjectives perfectly described Zidane's first run in Madrid in particular to their Champions League runs. This time, it applied to this run. It applied to this team.

You can't really knock this team for relying too much on stars, or luck. They quickly turned into an amazing defensive team, conceding just 25 goals. They got goals from 21 different players, a La Liga record. There were weeks where the goals came from fullbacks, players like Casemiro, and others. Benzema led them with 21 goals. The next highest was Sergio Ramos with 11. 

People will always claim Zidane is no tactical genius, if not some calling him a tactical novice. In truth, his tactical flexibility is his real brilliance. He didn't shove a team into a system. He adjusted systems depending on game, opponent. He made Real Madrid comfortable playing with the ball, playing on the counter. This year they switched formations constantly, going 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-5-1 with consitent mix. Flexibility allowed his team to deal with injuries, with drops in play. It allowed his team to line up with a purpose in each game.

Zidane's skills as a manager are harder to suss out, particularly because he doesn't want to do it. Despite his loud brilliance as a player, and his noted hot temper on the pitch, Zidane is either shy or just uninterested in brashness. He's a genius of course, but has not asked for a second of credit. He has the great gift of not having to fight for a name as a manager - a peace of mind that allowed him to walk away after three Champions League wins, and then come back out of his own choice. He's now golden.

It is hard to truly understand how absurd it is that Zidane has accomplished this much in effectively four seasons (three full ones + two half-seasons) as manager. It is hard enough to understand this even when you don't consider this is one of teh titans of the sport doing it. I still think each half detracts from the other in cementing his legacy. On the one hand, it is hard to put into words that he might be the best manager active in the world with the legacy of his playing career overshadowing it. It just seems weird to comapre him to Jurgen Klopp without acknowledging Zidane's career as a player.

His only comps at this point are Johan Cruyff, who probably was a slightly lesser player, but still has a greater legacy as a coach (that said, Zidane's resume might be stronger, but the Cruyff legacy adds up), or Franz Beckenbauer. That's damn good company. As we see more and more clubs turn to old legends to manage (Lampard at Chelsea, Arteta at Arsenal and maybe, just maybe, Xavi at Barcelona at some point) we have to realize that Zidane is an exception, as a coach an exception as a manager and an exception as an all-time soccer legend no matter what.