An Analysis: Is Zidane the right man to lead Real Madrid?

Modified Jan 27, 2018 05:57 GMT

Real Madrid's French coach Zinedine Zidane (R) holds the ball as he stands on the pitch with his Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo during a training session two days prior to their FIFA Club World Cup semi-final match at New York University Abu Dhabi's stadium in the Emirati capital on December 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE (Dec. 10, 2017 - Source: AFP)

Tactics

Gareth Bale (R) of Real Madrid CF and his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo (L) in action during the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Deportivo La Coruna at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on January 21, 2018 in Madrid, Spain. (Jan. 20, 2018 - Source: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images Europe)

Many pundits describe Zinedine Zidane as a mere inspirational presence not a genuinely good manager.

This date back to the 2016 Champions League final. During the build-up, Real Madrid players were asked one interesting question: What was different about Zidane? How is leadership standing out from the rest?

Everyone fulsomely answered were pointing out at two things, "intensity" and "feeling". No player said anything about his tactical approach, and that was because there wasn't any.

This is hard to explain.

If you can look at Real Madrid's performance - bar from the result- then it is clearly visible. Under Zidane, Real Madrid doesn't play with a tactical plan and are over-reliant on their forwards.

When the front three goes missing so does the whole team: something that has happened this season.