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Among the current crop of top managers, it's rarely that we spot a face (or a head) as recognizable as that of Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane. Zizou was easily one of the best players of his generation and on certain days, even when he was close to his retirement, he could be seen gliding over the green like dream.
Given how most of such players did not exactly turn out to be the best coaches, it is, in a way, quite surprising to see Zinedine Zidane ace that role with aplomb. So much so that detractors have a proclivity to attribute the Frenchman's successes to the shortcomings of his peers than embrace his abilities.
Ever since he took over at the helm at Real Madrid following Rafa Benitez's exit, Zidane has been racking up proof to decimate the arguments proffered against him so generously. He has subsequently gone on to win 3 Champions League titles and now, 2 La Liga titles.
A lack of an easily discernible playing style has contributed greatly to the dismissal of Zizou's credentials any time his name is brought up in a debate over who the best manager of our times is. However, football is about winning and in the short time that he's been around, it's impossible to find anyone who has been more successful.
With that said, let's take a look at 5 of the greatest wins of Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid manager.
#5 Real Madrid 1-0 Atletico Madrid (La Liga 2019-20)
This match makes the list not because of an astounding scoreline but because it underlines Zizou's ability to tactically outclass one of the best in the business, Diego Simeone.
Zizou chose to go with his 4-2-3-1 formation with Casemiro and Toni Kroos posturing as the double pivot in the middle. It was Atletico who were trying to keep Real Madrid at bay with their narrow 4-4-2 system depriving Real Madrid of space down the middle.
However, Zizou bypassed this roadblock by pushing his fullbacks, Carvajal and Ferland Mendy up the pitch whilst Valverde and Kroos dropped deeper with Casemiro in a bid to maintain possession and also to cover for the space at the back. So while in possession, Real Madrid were playing in a 2-3-4-1 formation.
Modric played higher up the field on the right side and was always in a more advanced position than Toni Kroos. Isco was on the other side and the Croat and the Spaniard created an attacking midfield pivot while Kroos and Valverde drew Partey and Koke into their half.
This essentially allowed Modric and Isco a great amount of space to operate in. In addition to this, Modric, Valverde and Carvajal kept rotating positions whenever necessary to cover in defence and this helped contain Atletico's attacks. They also exchanged positions to upset Atletico's setup and it worked to Real Madrid's advantage.
This meant that Atletico Madrid were cramped for room towards the centre of the field.
Zidane understood that they weren't being penetrative in attack and that it has to do with the lack of width in advanced positions. He introduced Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Jr. in the mix. With Vinicius and Vazquez holding their wide positions and not focusing on cutting inside, the Atleti backline was forced to commit, thereby allowing the advanced fullbacks to exploit the space vacated by them.
Such a move saw Mendy go on the overlap and feed Benzema a low cross which brought Real Madrid the only goal of the game. 'Cholo' Simeone's Atletico Madrid are a very difficult team to break down and though it took a lot of sweat, Zinedine Zidane and company were up to the task.
#4 Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona (La Liga 2019-20)
Real Madrid's most recent El Clasico triumph, on the face of it, might not look like something to write home about but if you read between the lines, it definitely suggests the coming of age of this Real Madrid side under the tutelage of Zinedine Zidane.
The match makes the list because Real Madrid got all 3 points in a match where Barcelona had a clear cut plan and meant business from the get go. Setien had conjured up a plan to silence Real Madrid but Zizou saw to it that he got the better of the Cules at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Setien decided to go with a 4-4-2 formation that had handed him his biggest wins since he took over from Ernesto Valverde. By doing this Barcelona dominated possession by crowding the midfield and playing rather narrowly.
While Arthur and Sergio Busquets played defensive midfield, De Jong and Vidal exploited the space further up the pitch. Vidal was licensed to foray into the attacking third and upset Real Madrid's defensive harmony while the Dutchman dropped to provide a further option as Barcelona played out from the back.
Zidane set his team up in 4-2-3-1 formation. Zizou wanted his players to stop Barcelona from switching the ball to the opposite flanks with ease and tasked his attackers into cutting those passing lanes.
It looked like Real Madrid were playing into Barcelona's hands as their pressing opened up spaces in midfield which Setien had specifically tasked his midfielders to exploit. Marcelo had to second guess going forward an awful lot of times as he was constantly under threat from both Vidal and Nelson Semedo.
However, for all of Barcelona's bossing of the midfield, their attacks were constantly shut down in the final third by Real Madrid. This is were Setien's plans went off the rails.
Vinicius Jr. and Federico Valverde kept tracking the runs of Barcelona's full backs relentlessly and forced them to go back. Thus Real Madrid's back four were able to focus on containing Barcelona's extremely talented forwards.
This frustrated Messi and he started dropping deep to get involved more in the proceedings. However, this was counter productive as Real Madrid could now afford to loosen up a bit at the back.
As soon as Barcelona were dispossessed, they would aggressively press the Madrid players. Zidane got his players to work around this by getting them to switch flanks to either Vinicius or Federico Valverde who maintained their positions out wide on either flank.
Whenever Valverde received the ball out wide on the right side, Benzema would drop into a midfield position and Carvajal would go on one of his overlapping runs.
This type of movement led to Real Madrid's first goal as well. This time on the left side, Benzema dropped back when Kroos had the ball, drawing Semedo on to him and leaving acres of space behind for Vinicius to run into. Kroos immediately signaled to Vinicius to take the run in behind and played a meticulous throughball into the young forward's path.
Vinicius motored into the box and beat Ter Stegen at his near post to give Real Madrid the lead. Subsequently, Mariano Diaz replaced Benzema in stoppage time and he scored a remarkable solo goal to extend the Blancos' lead and put the result beyond doubt.
Despite Setien being prepared for the game and Barcelona being able to dominate possession, Zidane's tactics helped Real Madrid upend the Cules' plans on the night and win a match that would prove to be critical in them lifting their 34th La Liga title.
#3 Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool (UEFA Champions League 2017-18 final)
Back when Jurgen Klopp's world beaters were just blooming into juggernauts, they were still as threatening as any around and were a daunting proposition for Zizou and company in the 2017-18 final. In fact, you could say that many fancied Klopp and company to put one over Zizou's Blancos.
Real Madrid, well aware of Liverpool's attacking riches, started off slow, defending deep and not allowing the likes of Mane, Firmino and Salah to flourish. However, Salah had to come off with an injury in the first half and that's when Zidane decided that his team was going to take charge.
After going 1 up thanks to a Loris Karius howler which Benzema had no qualms about making him pay for, Real Madrid found themselves in a precarious position as Mane equalized for Liverpool.
Zizou immediately brought on Gareth Bale and he turned the game on its head. The Welshman had only been on the pitch for a short time when he suspended himself 5 feet in the air and scored what is perhaps the greatest goal to have ever been scored in a Champions League final.
With Bale now going hell for leather down the right flank, Liverpool had to tighten up. However, the Welshman found space yet again, this time 30 odd yards away from goal and fancied himself with a dipper of a shot. For all the swerve on it, the ball was still headed straight to Karius who made a mess of it and edged the ball into the net.
Real Madrid did not play exceptionally well here. But it was Zidane's presence of mind and ability to read the game that enabled him to affect the game with his substitutions and it paid off and then some as the Blancos went on to lift their third Champions League title in a row.
#2 Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid (1st leg, 2017-18 UEFA Champions League Quarter Final)
Despite Real Madrid's domination in Europe, nobody expected them to dominate Juventus the way they did when they visited the Allianz stadium for the first leg of their quarterfinal.
Zidane lined his team up in his favoured 4-3-1-2. However, the difference this time was when he'd usually give Isco the license to roam about in the final third, the Spaniard was advised to stick to the left side of the pitch.
Juventus' right side was proven to be their weak link by Pochettino in their previous game and as such, Ronaldo, Benzema and Isco tried to crowd around on that side of the pitch. Add Marcelo to the mix and Juventus had far too much traffic to deal with on their right. To enable Marcelo to do this, Casemiro kept dropping back into defence.
Real Madrid's efforts bore fruit and Ronaldo gave them the lead from an attack that came from the left. Subsequently, Real Madrid defended deep to keep Juventus away from their goal.
Juve started committing more bodies forward and started gaining momentum in the final third. However, Real Madrid kept restoring parity in possession by pushing Carvajal up the pitch and switching wings whenever the left side got overloaded. This caused Juventus to regroup and regain their narrow shape.
However, owing to the fact that their attackers were on the left side, Carvajal would eventually rotate the ball back into defence helping Real Madrid keep hold of the ball for longer.
Real Madrid were getting the off chance but now they were more focused on not giving space to Juventus down the middle and allowing them to progress down the flanks. Madrid kept sitting back and thwarting Juventus' forays down the wings. Juventus kept committing more bodies forward and it almost bore fruit but Real Madrid maintained their lead going into half time thanks to some Keylor Navas heroics.
The game freed up more in the second half and Zizou brought on Lucas Vazquez for Benzema. Isco shifted to the left wing and Vazquez was now providing width from the right.
Ronaldo then scored an absolute scorcher of an overhead kick and the whole stadium stood up and applauded his effort. Within a minute of the goal, Dybala got redcarded for shoving his studs into Carvajal's midriff. However, Allegri would bring on Cuadrado and Mandzukic for Khedira and Asamoah to look for a goal.
With a man short, Juve were forced to play long balls and Real Madrid scored their 3rd goal of the night. This one came from the left wing once again capping off an extremely satisfying night for Zidane and Los Blancos.
#1 Real Madrid 4-1 Juventus (Final, UEFA Champions League 2016-17)
This match tops the list because the Frenchman who is often questioned about his tactical nous made his team put the ball in Juve's net 4 times in a Champions League final- which is more than Juve had conceded all competition.
To counter Juve's 3-4-1-2 formation, Zizou lined his team up in a 4-3-3 setup with Kroos and Modric interchanging positions and playing on the left side and right side of central midfield respectively.
Juve's forwards dropped deep whenever they lost the ball to cramp Real Madrid's midfielders for room so that they couldn't create from deep in their own half. Carvajal was getting closed down by Alex Sandro with the occasional help from Mario Mandzukic.
Dani Alves and Barzagli stayed out on the right to quell the efforts of Real Madrid's trio of Benzema, Isco and Ronaldo with Marcelo also showing up to cause problems down the flank.
Juve were the better side in the first half as they attacked down the flanks and closed down the Madrid attackers as it was clear to every single Juve player what their role was. However, they could not stop Real Madrid from taking the lead as they scored from the only chance that they had in the first half.
Juve responded in kind soon after as Mandzukic scored an outstanding overhead kick to restore parity before half time. But Zizou had almost planned this game to perfection. After tiring out Juve in the first half, the Real Madrid manager took the leashes off his players and gave them the license to go out swinging.
They started pressing high up the pitch and Juve found it hard to maintain possession. It was just as hard for them to counter attack as they lacked the pace to penetrate the Real Madrid lines efficiently. The forwards were getting tired due to the defensive demands that were placed on them which needed them marking Madrid's centre halves.
As such, Real Madrid's central midfielders now had enough time and space on the ball every time they thwarted a Juve counter. This helped the Blancos to thrive thanks to the sheer quality in their ranks.
Zidane had been preparing his team for this game for a long time and was able to rotate his squad and rest his players so that they would be ready to fire on all cylinders on the night of the Champions League final.
Ronaldo, seeing how depleted Juve looked in the second half, kept going out wide to the right side and making runs inwards. Ronaldo scored twice on the night, with Carvajal and Asensio also getting a goal each to hand Real Madrid a thumping victory in the Champions League final.
