As the final whistle blew yesterday to draw the curtains on the Real Madrid-Villareal encounter, it also acted as the bugle-call for the championship celebrations for Los Merengues. After an obnoxious season in the preceding year, Real came out in flying colors, leaving the Catalans waiting for another year to make amends, under the chaperonage of Zinedine Zidane.
This was his second stint with the club as he came back to the hallowed grounds in Bernabeu after a year of hiatus. In his first stint, he ruled the entire world with his charismatic presence along the sidelines, defying all the odds those were stacked up against Madrid after the unfortunate departure of Rafael Benitez.
His second stint with the club started on 11th March 2019, as Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari had woeful showdowns as the Blancos boss and the management had no other choices than to return to the French magician to come back as the messiah. He did come back, and man, he did in style.
Zidane’s achievements as Real Madrid boss are not just enviable but the numbers show that they are crazily perfect for the man who has just spent three years as the Los Blancos manager.
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As a manager, his team has played 209 matches out of which they have registered 143 victories, a whopping 68 win percentage with some incredulous consistency and an enthralling brand of football. Barring the fact that he has managed some biggest talents in the world which include the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane has hardwired the team with an indomitable spirit that compels the contingency to come back at their opponents over and over again.
The thing which rivets everyone’s attention in the current season is that the big monikers which Zidane had at his disposal were not many and he was pinning his hopes on the youth brigade.
Players like Vinicius Jr showcased the squad’s mentality to prove a point that they were simply warming up to challenge the might of the world, while the reliability provided by Ramos in the back was a burning testimony to Real’s hunger.
The honours notched up by Zizou also include 3 Champions’ League titles, two FIFA Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, and two Spanish Super Cups. All of this came within a brief span of three years and his departure left the club in arrant disarray.
That is when Florentino Perez decided to put an end to the distance between their erstwhile boss and the beloved club, once again leaving no stones untouched to bring the French-roulette specialist to take the reins of the club again.
Zidane’s reinstatement with the club started bearing instant fruit as the team started the league brimming with panache and the brand of football exhibited by the young lads was equally impressive. A season which witnessed a victory against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid each and a stalemate in the first leg validated the hunger in the eyes of the kids under Zizou’s guidance.
With Manchester City shortly lined up to host Madrid in their backyard, Zidane will be all set to put in another masterstroke to defy the English giants and showcase that why he is currently the best football has to offer. With an average trophy in every 19 games, Guardiola versus Zidane will be a treat for the fans to savour.
