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And so it has happened. When Zinedine Zidane won his third successive Champions League title as the manager of Real Madrid, everything seemed great for the Frenchman and Madridistas.
Three Champions League titles in a row is a feat that happens rarely and Madrid were enjoying a golden era led by Zidane. However, it has to come to an end.
The legendary former French footballer put an end to his Madrid venture by announcing his resignation yesterday. It was a shocker, completely out of the blue – in a move that devastated the Madridistas.
However, once the dust settles and the fact sinks within, one can understand why Zidane did what he did – and why he was right in doing so.
#5 The cracks became visible
This is the first and foremost reason for Zidane to consider quitting his first managerial affair as a coach. The former Juventus midfielder began to realize that there some crevices that were just getting more apparent by the hour.
The lack of cohesion in Madrid’s playing style, the erratic nature in their performance in the league, the overdependence on Cristiano Ronaldo for scoring goals… these are just some of the points that may have made a home in Zidane’s mind.
“I spoke to the president to explain what I thought. I think it is the moment, for me and for the squad. I know it is a bit of a strange moment but I think it is the right moment. This is a team that should keep on winning and it needs a change for that. After three years, it needs another discourse, another working methodology, and that’s why I took this decision.”
The words bolded above perfectly depict Zidane's absolute trust in the fact that a change is required for Madrid to continue in their winning ways. He believes that his methods may have run its course and someone else - a new mind - is the need of the hour to take them forward.
Moving forward, it would have been very difficult to solve these errors with methods that actually played a part in creating them, which was what Zidane meant when he said that it was…
#4 Time for a change in team
In his goodbye press conference, he stated that he felt that the team won’t win again with his method – and he would hate that. As a result, he opted to quit and let the team have someone carry them forward with new methods.
“I think it’s the moment to go,” he added. “I also think the players need a change. They’re the ones who fight on the pitch. It’s not easy for them. It’s a demanding club, a club with a huge history and the players are always squeezed. We always want more and more and there is a moment when you think: ‘Well, what more can I ask from my players?’ I want to win and if I don’t see clearly that we’re going to keep on winning, then it is best to change and not do anything stupid.”
While someone new might not work, Zidane’s epiphany of failing with his current ways looks like a real possibility given the way the Blancos played this season. Despite winning the Champions League, the Blancos never really looked like a cohesive unit and were lucky to beat Juventus and Bayern Munich and progress to the final.
Even in the final, Lorius Karius’ double howlers gifted them the title. And you can only ride on the luck horse for so long.
Cristiano Ronaldo is back again with his sissy fits, Bale also implied he could leave, which leaves a 30-year-old erratic striker as the only senior forward in the squad. Modric is 32 and so is Sergio Ramos. In short, this team needs rebuilding, the bench players like Kovacic and Asensio slowly metamorphosing into first-team players.
And perhaps, it was right for Zizou to want someone new for a new beginning.
#3 Victim of own success
Two-and-a-half seasons. Three Champions League titles. One league title. Two European Super Cups. Two Club World Cups. One Spanish Super Cup. All of this in just two-and-a-half years.
No manager has been as successful with a new club like Zidane has, except for perhaps Pep Guardiola. The Frenchman has set the standards so high that a season without a major trophy under his reign would be a failure on his part.
This is something that puts added pressure on him. It is for exactly this reason that there were talks of him being sacked when the league was all but lost and Leganes embarrassingly dumped the Galacticos out of the Copa Del Rey at the Bernabeu.
#2 Much needed break
Don’t we all just sometimes feel like throwing it all away and go to the Bahamas and enjoy the view with someone special and forget the rest of the wall? Don’t we all crave for breaks due to the stress that life so easily bestows upon a person?
The difference between Zidane and us mere mortals is that he had the courage to throw it all away and take a break that was overdue for the Frenchman. No manager has been at Real Madrid for more than three seasons – that is how stressful the job is.
The difference between the other managers and Zidane was that he knew his calling while the others just waited to be sacked. The expression on Florentino Perez’s face, while Zidane was giving out his final blow, spoke volumes.
It depicted a man who had just understood how other managers felt when he put the axe down upon them, but he also knew deep within that Zidane needed this – he needed a break from it all.
#1 Leaving on a high
As a player, Zinedine Zidane might have bowed out with a disgraceful incident with Marco Materazzi, living his final moments as a player being sent off by the referee in a World Cup final, but he was at the top of his game at the time of his retirement.
Indeed, it was his inspirational performances for France that allowed an ageing team to reach the final of the 2006 World Cup. And now, as a manager, he leaves the Galacticos at a time when they have only just won their fourth Champions League title in five years.
He had the respect of the players and the love of Florentino Perez. There was no better way for him to leave as his legacy remains intact and so does his image as a winning manager.
He did something that Sir Alex Ferguson perfectly executed at Manchester United. He did something that Arsene Wenger couldn't.
He did something that Zinedine Zidane would usually do.
