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When it was announced that the veteran Zinedine Zidane will be leaving Real Madrid after leading them to their third consecutive champions league most of us thought he would be certainly replaced by another club legend Guti but just before the world cup. It was later revealed that Julen Lopetegui, Spanish national team coach during that time will be taking over from the Frenchman.
The decision came as a surprise as the Lopetegui's Spanish style of football was never expected to work at the Bernabeu. Previously it was attempted by Rafa Benitez but that didn't go according to plan for the Spaniard.
Things started to look bad after it was announced that club legend and one of the best players for them in maybe a decade was going to join Juventus for a reported £88 million. The supporters were highly concerned as Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the main reasons behind Los Blancos' recent European success. Concerns were just getting higher as Real lost to their local rival Atletico in the UEFA super cup final.
Recent champions league game against AS Roma was nearly perfect if not perfect style that Lopetegui's expects from his players.
Here's are three reasons why Real Madrid are more fun to watch than ever under the former Spain national team coach:
3. Players getting more creative freedom
During Zidane's reign as manager, the likes of Isco was never given the type of freedom from which he could express himself and create goal scoring opportunities for his team. Real Madrid's game under the Frenchman usually progressed from either side of the flank rather than the center.
However, the current Spanish style allows players like Isco, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale to progress the game and build their attack from central areas. Their recent champions league game against Roma was a testament to this new style as the creative players combined with the striker Karim Benzema and created plenty of goalscoring opportunities in the first forty-five minutes of the game itself.
2. Gone are the days for solo, it's a team- team situation
In a recent interview with Daily Mail, Gareth Bale spoke about post-Ronaldo Madrid, he said, "it's maybe a bit more relaxed, yes. I suppose there is more of a team, more working as one unit rather than one player."
As always the fans reacted badly online against Bale with floods of tweets emerging aimed at the Welshman however, his claims cannot be completely discounted with the performance against AS Roma in the champions league. The team's style looked more towards complementing each and every player and getting the best out of them.
Another reason can be seen in Karim Benzema's return to goalscoring form. The French striker was written off last season by a large proportion of fanbase and also across media by pundits and his resurgence demonstrates the progress that Real Madrid is making as a team.
3. The Spanish Style
Tiki-taka is a Spanish style of play in football characterized by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels, and maintaining possession. The style is primarily associated with La Liga club Barcelona, especially during the era of manager Pep Guardiola. Its development and influence goes back to Johan Cruyff. Tiki-taka moves away from the traditional thinking of formations in football to a concept derived from zonal play.
This style of football is highly offensive which makes it fun to watch for the fans. However, Real Madrid was not known to play with such an expansive style. But with the players that Los Blancos have in their squad, it won't take much time for the squad to adapt to this playing style seamlessly. It is safe to say that the transition won't take a lot of time.
