How Good is Zidane the Manager?

By El Maestro

The 3-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday have been able to license some critics, especially after increasing the league gap to 4 points after both Sevilla and Barcelona dropped points over the weekend (both now leveled with 42 points). Regardless, questions are still being asked about Zidane as a manager after Madrid’s previous poor run of results that included 1 win in 5 games (not including Sunday’s win) and being eliminated from the Copa del Rey last Wednesday to Celta Vigo. It may seem ridiculous to pose this question after Zidane’s recent success, but I think It is something that should be asked. 

Is Zidane really a great coach or just a figurehead in the locker room? What does it actually mean to be a great coach or figurehead?

Great Coach:

• Tactical awareness and reading of the game.
• Able to make tough decisions.
• Man manager.

Figurehead:

• Given into the core players.
• Inconsistency with meritocracy.
• Struggle to make tough decisions.

This is a personal opinion and it pains me to say it because I have a lot of respect and admiration for Zidane, but unfortunately I think he falls more under the second category. People will point to the 3 titles he’s won in 2016, the 40 game unbeaten streak, and Madrid’s current position in the league table. That’s true, but I could also name a number of coaches that had similar success at big clubs and then did very little after leaving those teams.

• Vicente Del Bosque: Won 2 La Liga and Champions League titles, but only had one coaching stint after leaving Real Madrid in 2003 and being hired by the Spanish national team in 2008. That only coaching stint was in 2004 with Besiktas where he was sacked before the end of the season.  
  
• Frank Rijkaard: Won two La Liga titles and one Champions League trophy with Barcelona. Despite his success, his only coaching position since leaving the “azulgranas” have been one season with Galatasaray and two years with the Saudi Arabian national team.
• Roberto Di Matteo: Won the Champions League in 2012 with Chelsea, but was then fired early on the following season. Since then, he coached Schalke 04 for one year and took over Aston Villa in the summer before getting the sack in early October.  

Zidane does deserve credit for what he’s done with Real Madrid up to this point, but he’s also managing a team that is considered by many one of the three best teams in the world. Real Madrid can win 90% of their games on talent only and without Zidane having to showcase his coaching skills. However, when Madrid go up against a well organized side and can’t rely solely on their talent, that’s where Zidane shows his tactical limitations.

When it comes to reading the game and making the necessary changes, a lot of his substitutions are mostly like for like and are sometimes made too late in the game. Let’s use last Wednesday’s game against Celta Vigo. Real Madrid needed to score two goals, but were struggling to create many opportunity and were being outmatched in midfield. Despite this, not just did Zidane not make a change at halftime, he didn’t make his first substitution until about the 75th minute of the second half. It wasn’t even a tactically, he just made a like for like switch taking off Marco Asensio for Lucas Vazquez.  

He has shown some great man management skills and all the players have backed him publicly, but Zidane is so close that it almost looks like he’s given into the core players and even the media; affecting his ability to make tough decisions. This doesn’t mean that the likes of Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Cristiano, etc are the ones running the show, but that Zidane’s idea of keeping the locker room happy and friendly may be by showing full confidence in the core players. It’s not a bad idea, but what do you do if they continue to struggle and those on the bench are actually doing better? Something that has shown to cause a divide in dressing rooms around the world between regular starters and bench players. What are some current examples of this?

• Cristiano Ronaldo: It’s evident that he doesn’t have the speed he use to have, but Zidane continues to put him on the left wing because that Ronaldo’s favorite position. Something that the Frenchman has admitted publicly to the press. Even though his best games this season have been playing as a number 9 strikers.
  
  
• Number 9 Striker: I found this interesting statistic last week before the return leg against Celta Vigo and it will alarm a lot of people.
  • Benzema: 1 goal every 136 minutes
  • Morata: 1 goal every 126 minutes
  • Mariano: 1 goal every 44 minutes
    
  • Yet Mariano can barely get a game under Zidane. Is it his trust in Bezema and Morata or the fact that he’s afraid of the locker room’s and/or media reaction even if he plays Mariano in front of Morata?

• Goalkeeping Situation: Keylor Navas was key in Real Madrid’s success last season, but he hasn’t been the same this campaign since returning from his injury. He’s made several notable mistakes that have put Madrid in bad situations, has conceded many soft goals that could have easily been stopped, and his areal play has been off and struggles to come off his line. Not to mention that Kiko Casilla has done a very good job this season every time he’s been called to action, especially in the cup tournament this month where he’s made some crucial saves to keep Real Madrid alive in the games. Navas has still been solid in goal this season and isn’t currently a liability for the team. However, if he continues to struggle and starts becoming a liability, will Zidane have what it takes to sit Navas in favor of Casilla.
• 2015/2016 Season: It all ended well for Zidane last season, but let’s not forget that his coaching tenure started off by playing all the creative playmakers (CR7, Benzema, Bale, Modric, Kroos, James, and Isco) and leaving out a holding midfielder. A change he made two months later after some injuries and poor player performances made him have to start Casemiro. From that moment on, the team was more balanced and played better.  

Good things to point out:   

Despite some of these issues, there are some good things Zidane has managed very well.

1. Getting Ronaldo to rest more often this season in order for him to be better physically fit in the final stretch of the season.
2. His handling of James Rodriguez. At times it hasn’t been perfect, but Zidane has been able to get a good version out of the Colombian this season.  
3. Has slightly improved tactically this season, which we saw in the Madrid Derby in November and even properly executing a 3-5-2 formation. Something that has not gone unnoticed and even received praise from fellow colleagues Jorge Sampaoli and Eduardo Berizzo.

Zidane still is a young manager learning the trait. Up to now he’s done a very good job, but he needs to improve on these weaknesses if he wants to manage Real Madrid for many years. He already has good man management skills, but now he has to improve on his tactical awareness and decision making if he wants to become an even better coach.