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Real Madrid have been very successful under Zinedine Zidane. Ever since he took over in January 2016, they have won the Champions League twice and La Liga once in his short stint so far.
Zidane is known more as a manager who is great with man-management rather than being a tactical genius. However, his tactical acumen has been underrated at times as there have been matches where Zidane showed that he can make the perfect tactical calls to unlock the opposition and help the team win.
We take a look at 5 matches where Zidane showcased his understanding of the game in terms of tactics and lead Real Madrid to a win.
#5 Real Madrid vs Sevilla (3-0), Copa Del Rey 2016-17
Back then, Jorge Sampaoli's Sevilla were playing great football in Spain and stood in the top 3 in La Liga when they faced Real Madrid in the round of 16 of Copa Del Rey. Sevilla liked to press high and were playing some great attacking football. They were deemed to be a tough challenge for Real Madrid as the first leg took place at Santiago Bernabeu.
Zidane first decided to surprise everyone by not including any of the BBC upfronts. He went in with a front line of Morata, Asensio and James and decided to match the high press of Sevilla with a counter press of his own, catching Sevilla and Sampaoli completely off-guard.
Sevilla liked to build from the back, but relentless pressing and closing down of passing lanes from Real Madrid meant they endured a very tough first half. The first goal by James came after Casemiro pressed high up the pitch and won the ball.
Real Madrid scored 3 goals in the first half and it could easily have been more as Sevilla looked completely out of ideas in countering Real Madrid. In the second half, the pressing died down, however, as the result of the match and that of the tie was almost confirmed.
#4 vs Barcelona, La Liga 2015-16
This was Zidane's first Clasico as a manager. Barcelona were flying high with a healthy lead at the top of the La Liga table and came into the game on the back of an undefeated streak of 39 games. MSN were firing all cylinders and they had won the first Clasico of the season 4-0 at Santiago Bernabeu.
Meanwhile, Madrid were going through a tough phase as they had sacked Benitez after a torrid start to the season and appointed Zidane under whom doubts still persisted about the side. However, everything was about to change as Zidane answered all his critics.
Real Madrid started with a 4-3-3, letting Barcelona have the ball. While defending it became a 4-5-1 with Ronaldo and Bale backtracking. I repeat Ronaldo backtracking! Casemiro was deployed as a defensive midfielder and he kept Messi in his back pocket for the entire length of the game.
This was the game after which Casemiro got his fame if you remember. Zidane ensured that MSN were not able to combine with each other during the game and used the pace of Bale and Ronaldo on counters. The space on counters meant Bale had his best Clasico after the Copa Del Rey final 2014.
Even though Barcelona took the lead through Pique, Real Madrid were always in the game. Benzema equalised after a driving run from Marcelo on the counter and then Ronaldo scored the winner from a Bale cross after another counter with Real Madrid reduced to 10 men after Ramos was sent off (surprised?).
Real could have had scored 3 had it not been for referee wrongly disallowing a Gareth Bale goal. The possession stats stood at 66% for Barcelona and 34% for Real Madrid. However, still Real were able to create as many chances as Barcelona.
Zidane with his well-deployed tactics had ended the unbeaten streak of Barcelona and also ensured that the mood around Real Madrid changed for good. The biggest achievement for Zidane in this game was how he made Ronaldo defend and also that this was the first time Madrid won the Clasico with BBC starting. It showcased a lot of Zidane's qualities as a leader and as a tactician.
#3 vs Atletico Madrid, La Liga 2016-17
Real Madrid had failed to win in the La Liga against their crosstown rivals for 3 consecutive seasons as they visited the Vincente Calderon. Their task was made harder by the absence of Pepe, Ramos in defence; Casemiro, Kroos in midfield and Benzema up front. However, Zidane had his plans ready.
Nacho and Varane started in defence and Kovacic, Isco in midfield and Vazquez in place of Benzema. Zidane deployed a 4-1-4-1 instead of the routine 4-3-3. While Kovacic shielded the defensive line, Isco played in a free role behind the striker with Vazquez and Bale on wings, while Ronaldo was deployed as a striker.
Deployment of this tactic meant Real Madrid won the midfield battle and cancelled out Atletico's attack. Atletico, apart from the first 5 minutes of second half, didn't get a sniff throughout the game as Real dominated the game.
Isco, Kovacic, Ronaldo and Varane had a field day. Ronaldo's hat-trick meant Real Madrid won 3-0 on the night and it could easily have been more for Los Merengues. Zidane again found out a way even after missing out on some key players for the clash and ensured Real Madrid took a crucial step in their pursuit of the La Liga title. He had just outdone another tactical genius in Simeone with some great tactics of his own.
#2 vs Villarreal, La Liga 2016-17
Real Madrid went to Estadio Ceremica to play Villarreal requiring a win to get back to the top of the La Liga table. The task wasn't easy as Villarreal were playing some great football and were having the best defensive record in La Liga at that point.
The task was made even harder as they scored 2 goals early in the second half and cruised to a 2-0 lead. Nothing during the game made anyone believe that Madrid can mount a comeback and win the game. Villarreal were dominating possession and were creating more chances in the attacking third.
Zidane then decided to make a tactical switch. He brought on the attacking talent of Isco at the place of defensive-minded Casemiro at the 60th-minute mark and the game took a turn on its head.
Kroos and Modric formed a double pivot as Isco played in a free role as a number 10 supported by Bale and Ronaldo on wings and Benzema up front. Shortly after Ronaldo's thunderous left-footed volley came back off the post Bale scored with a header from Carvajal cross as Real Madrid threw the kitchen sink at Villarreal.
A few minutes later Ronaldo equalised from the spot and then Morata came off the bench to make it 3-2 from a Marcelo cross. The Villarreal defence stood shattered as they tried to identify what had just struck them. Isco was heavily involved throughout his substitute appearance and was crucial in first and third goal scored by Madrid. In less than 30 minutes Real Madrid had scored 3 goals against the best defence in La Liga to take away a crucial win.
Zidane again showcased his tactical acumen in the way he utilised Isco and made that midfield work without a midfield enforcer like Casemiro who had become a crucial part of the Real Madrid midfield.
#1 vs Juventus, UCL final 2016-17
Juventus went into the 2016-17 Champions League final with the best defensive record in Europe, conceding just 3 goals during the whole campaign. However, all of that changed dramatically.
Real were up against the best defence in Europe back then and needed to be clinical up front. However, it was Juve who made the better start, as Keylor Navas made a couple of crucial saves to keep the scores level in the opening 10 minutes.
Real Madrid slowly grew as the game went on and managed to take the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo, though Mario Mandzukic managed to level the scores with a good strike.
In the second half though, the game changed completely thanks to a little tactical tweak from Zidane. Juventus, in the first half, provided very little space to the Real Madrid attack and midfield to link up and operate in. They also won the ball higher up the pitch and carved out more chances than Madrid.
Zidane though then made Ronaldo play more on the shoulder of the last defender trying to make runs behind, stretching the Juventus defence. There were two occasions on which those runs were almost awarded. Ronaldo was marked by two defenders in the first half whenever he came deep to get the ball affecting his ability to do much.
As he started playing on last defender's shoulder and tried to make a run behind, Juventus defenders had to stay with him leaving more space in between the lines for the likes of Isco, Kroos and Modric to exploit. Real Madrid also started pressing Juventus high up the pitch and closed down the passing lanes quickly making it difficult for Juventus to come out of their own half.
The combined effect of this was that Real Madrid pinned Juventus deep in their own half and created more chances. They also started having more shots from range with Isco, Kroos, Modric and Casemiro all registering efforts as they had more space to operate. The second and the third goal were the rewards of this strategy as second came after a long-range effort from Casemiro and the third came after Modric won the ball in the attacking third as he pressed high.
After Real Madrid had scored 3 they eased down the pressing and Juventus started seeing more of the ball as they tried to get a goal to come back into the game. However, they pushed the defensive line high and Zidane again exploited it. He then introduced Asensio and Bale to make use of their speed on counters and it almost paid off on a couple of occasions. Real Madrid ending up scoring as many goals in the second half as Juventus had conceded in the whole tournament before the final.
Real won the game 4-1, completely destroying the Juventus defence and sent the world into a frenzy as they become the first team to win back-to-back UCL titles in the new format. Zidane again showed his tactical acumen by outclassing another great tactician in Max Allegri in Juventus dugout and led Real Madrid to a historic win.
