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#2 Managerial stability
This will be Valverde's second season in charge, so he has an advantage over Julen Lopetegui because he has already implemented his ideas. He may not be popular with some sections of the fanbase due to his seemingly pragmatic tactics and the disastrous display against Roma, but he has been successful so far with a domestic double last season.
His use of a 4-4-2 formation made Barcelona a lot stronger defensively even if it did go against the traditional principles of the club. Therefore, he has shown that he is willing to make major changes if needed as well as having an excellent understanding of the squad needs.
Lopetegui has a much harder task ahead of him because he has to convince the squad of the merit of his ideas. Real Madrid are notorious for having egos in the squad, so implementing a strict style of play on them can be tough.
Zidane had a relaxed approach which focused on managing the egos of the team, although he did make important changes such as bringing in Casemiro to anchor the midfield. However, his reputation as a player meant that it was easier for him to convince the players on the style he wanted to bring in. He often gave the side a lot of creative freedom, which brought the best out of players such as Marcelo, Luka Modric and Isco.
This approach worked well in the Champions League due to it being a knockout competition, so a number of strong performances were needed in the second half of the season rather than consistency throughout. The main issue with this can be seen in their disastrous league title defence last season.
Lopetegui has a possession-based approach with strong elements of positional play which could be seen in his work with the Spanish national team. Therefore, they will benefit from a structure to their play in the long-term especially with young talents such as Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio and new signing Alvaro Odriozola. However, it will take a while to convince the main players as well as actually implementing it. Success and patience in his methods isn't guaranteed either because a poor start could easily see him sacked such as Rafa Benitez in 2016.
