Top 10 managers of the 2017/18 season

#5 Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane has had a bitter-sweet 2017/18 campaign

All those haters who wrote off Real Madrid after their lacklustre start to the season will be biting their nails out of anxiety, watching the Vikings on the cusp of winning a third successive Champions League title. As much as Cristiano Ronaldo's revival has been instrumental in Los Blancos' road to the UCL final, it would be a sin to not acknowledge Zinedine's Zidane invaluable contribution to the club's success.

The Frenchman received poignant criticism at the start of the season while the belief of him being 'lucky' in winning back-to-back European cups grew stronger. However, he has silenced his critics this term by displaying his tactical acumen, inching closer to glory from the jaws of defeat and despair.

First and foremost, Zidane showed a strength of character in breaking the BBC trio by scrapping the 4-3-3 formation that Real Madrid followed rather devotedly. Applying a 4-4-2 format has brought more positives than the negatives that one can think of.

The said formation reduces the possibility of Real Madrid being exposed on the flanks. With Marcelo and Carvajal not possessing the required stature a defender should have, playing Asensio and Vazquez on the wings in a four-man midfield does the trick. The duo help in crowding the flanks, making the Blancos defence harder to break in that area.

In the 14 games Zidane has deployed this formation in the league and the UCL, Los Merengues have won 11 times and drawn the remaining games, scoring 47 and conceding 16 in the process.

Also, he's done a fantastic job by breathing life in Cristiano Ronaldo, who's started firing on all cylinders as much as he did when he was deployed on the left wing. The Portuguese found it hard to adjust to his new position as a proper striker but seems to have settled down now.

He might not be considered the GOAT at the moment, but in a few years, Zinedine Zidane will definitely make a case for that title which will be hard to beat. As for the current season, abysmal results in domestic competitions is the reason why the Frenchman hasn't been ranked higher on this list.