Of course, we all know the drill. One of the most popular ethos that is enmeshed within us from a very young age is, as Samuel L. Jackson would have put it, “the cold, hard mother****ing fact of life”: everything that begins is bound to end.
Therein lies the beauty of life; the inevitability of everything fading to nihil and then back again to something. After all, how can you create something new if it already exists?
Zinedine Zidane is a creator in his own right. As a player, he weaved magical touches to induce a spell on opposition defenders where they found themselves in a state of delirium. Back then, he broke record wearing sports gears. Now, he breaks them wearing a suit.
40 games without a loss. It is funny how things work in life. From 40 to 0—at Sanchez Pizjuan last Thursday, a new record was created; at the same venue on Sunday, a new beginning was founded. Spanish teams now have a new target to beat: Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid’s unbeaten 40 games.
A bold move
At the end of the day, though, it is not the streaks that matter. As cliché as it may sound, it’s the trophies that count. All this fancy stuff only look good on the books, but are worth jack if they don’t result in trophies.
Zidane knows this precisely well. And that’s why he dared to do something new. Playing an entirely new system against the second-placed team in La Liga requires ‘cojones’, and Zidane showed that he has them.
No manager, not even the supposedly fearless Jose Mourinho, could do what Zidane did against Sevilla last Sunday. It might have been a bold move, but it was a logical one, something which makes me wonder why the earlier managers never tried.
If history is kept as a witness, then it can be seen that the reason for the downfall of the Frenchman’s predecessors was predictability. The brutally efficient system of Carlo Ancelotti might have churned out 22 wins in a row, but once teams found out how to break it, the Italian became the prey that was grabbed by the throat before being ripped to shreds by a lion.
For Rafa Benitez…well, let’s just leave it right there.
The former Juventus midfielder’s team might have gone 40 games without being beaten, but more often than not; luck played a significant role in bailing them out. The cracks were visible; everyone could see it, and Sevilla came the closest to breaking it in their latest Copa Del Rey encounter.
Zinedine Zidane could be labelled a great many things. Genius. Hot-headed. Visionary. However, blind is definitely not one of them. He knew that his system was close to being tattered to pieces; and hence he planned something new, something different: a 3-5-2.
Thanks to Antonio Conte, playing a 3-man defence has become a trend once again. The Italian tactician patronises the 3-man defence like his countryman, Ludovico Einaudi, does with the keyboard. It is just pure elegance; a spectacle to behold.
A step in the right direction?
Unfortunately for Zinedine Zidane, however, you can’t be a master of something in just one day. And that’s what we witnessed against Sevilla as Madrid fielded a 3-5-2 to spring a surprise against the Andalusians.
However, it backfired. Madrid were pinned against the wall for most of the game and in the end suffered their first defeat of the season. Ironically, though, the two goals that the Blancos conceded was the result of individual errors from Sergio Ramos and Keylor Navas, respectively.
Many criticized the Frenchman for the change. They deemed it unnecessary, especially away from home against Sevilla. And they were right. However, where they begin to become wrong is when they suggest him to not use the 3-man defence again.
The Galacticos reverted back to their usual system against Celta and lost their first game at home since February 27, 2016. The trumpets have been blown, the binds have been shattered—Madrid are no longer unbeatable, not with this system anyway.
There are some relationships which seem wonderful on the front, seemingly-indestructible, but deep down, everyone knows that things aren’t as happy as it seems. With Madrid, despite all the unbeaten games, there was a scent in the air that oozed an aura of vulnerability.
And now it has become apparent. Perhaps, for Zidane, it became apparent after the 3-3 against Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey and he took the initiative to do something about it. It may have backfired, but it was a good start nonetheless.
Where did the problem lie?
The problem was not playing a 3-5-2. No, it wasn’t. Neither was it playing away from home. One of the most essential things about playing a 3-man backline is the sweeper/libero—the man at the center of the defence, the leader of the backline. The man that, perhaps, is the breath of the system.
While Sergio Ramos might be donning the captain’s armband; he doesn’t have the traits to play in the heart of a 3-man backline. And that’s where Zidane got it wrong. For a start, Ramos doesn’t have the composure, or the discipline, to play as the sweeper.
Your mind might now scream with thoughts of counter-arguments. Yes, Ramos does possess the passing ability needed to succeed there, but playing as the sweeper is so much more than that.
An Italian footballer, accompanied by his other half, was once held at gunpoint. The next thing any normal man would have done was to give away the expensive items he and his beloved possessed. But the Italian punched the assailant in the face and chased him down. That, folks, is a prime example of a perfect sweeper.
That Italian, as you may have guessed already, was none other than Leonardo Bonucci. The Juventus man, much like as he is in real life, is someone who doesn’t allow the forwards to bully him even when he is held at gunpoint. The calmness with which he deals with situations, where most would lose their heads, is a sight to behold.
And Sergio Ramos doesn’t have that ability. Indeed, one doesn’t need to do much to get the Spain captain off the hooks. He is like a bull raging with vengeance and just waiting to see the red to set off in his quest of spilling blood. Keeping all this in mind, the Real Madrid number 4 is not the man to lead a 3-man defence.
People like to find light in the bitterest of darkness. And it should always be that way because, after all, this Universe, with all its light, evolved from darkness. Hence, there is still hope for Zidane to play a 3-man defence.
And the man to carry them there is Raphael Varane. The Frenchman might not be at his brilliant best like he was before his knee injury, but playing him in the heart of backline might just bring him back the days of glory.
Raphael Varane has the ability to be as calm as Tibetan monks that meditate with serenity even amidst the strongest of cacophonies. His passing range is also sublime, perhaps even better than that of Sergio Ramos, making him the perfect candidate for the leader in defence.
Whatever the case be, it would be wise of Zinedine Zidane to keep trying something new—the 3-5-2, in this case—something different. Something that will keep the opponents guessing, something that will be the beginning of a new dawn.
Celta’s win at the Bernabeu will be used as a blueprint by other teams to ensure that they choke the capital club. And Zidane will need his oxygen mask when that happens.
And the 3-5-2 could be it.
