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One can argue that there has been little that Zinedine Zidane has done wrong since taking over from Rafa Benítez in January 2016. Eight prestigious trophies, including two consecutive UEFA Champions League titles, something that no one has been able to do in the modern era.
After winning the Club World Cup final against Grêmio at the end of 2017, statistics say that it took the French coach only 89 days in charge to win a trophy, an impressive record for any club, in any competition.
It is hard to believe that such a coach can do something wrong, but recent terrible form and results of his team say yes, he can.
Transfers
If you allow players like Pepe, Álvaro Morata and James Rodríguez to leave, you have to get the players who will be able to replace them in all aspects of the game, and even improve the team.
So far, the impact of the new summer signings Theo Hernández, Jesús Vallejo, Marcos Llorente, Dani Ceballos and Borja Mayoral is minimal and almost sporadic, with some of the players having just a few good performances.
There were no experienced and proven stars added to the team, so-called game-changers, the type of players, who can win some of the tough games with a spark of magic and help the team get some vital points and goals.
If you look at the competition, and you don't have to look further than Barcelona, they are well beyond losing one of their biggest stars to PSG, Neymar. He has already been replaced with a great prospect and a big star, Ousmane Dembélé, one of the biggest talents in the world and most recently with Philippe Coutinho, an established Premier League player.
We have seen the departure of big stars from Real Madrid in the last transfer window, but no big stars came to take their place. Some vital games in the 2016/17 season of La Liga were decided with a lot of luck, with goals from captain Sergio Ramos in the last minutes especially memorable.
But you cannot always bet on luck to get you wins and titles, you have to have the players to carry out the weight. The competition is improving and if you're not doing the same, the decline is inevitable.
Rotations can make the team go dizzy
Rotations seemed to work for Zinedine Zidane during the previous season, or he wouldn't have been able to get all those trophies. But it can only work if you have players such as Álvaro Morata, Pepe, James, Mateo Kovačić, Nacho and others, waiting to prove themselves to the newly appointed coach, which they did.
In return, Pepe was allowed to leave the club, James sent on loan, Morata sold to Chelsea. Nacho is used only to cover for other injured defenders, and talented Kovačić left on the sidelines just like last season, feeling that his great performances haven't been noticed.
In fact, that could be the actual key to the bad results of Real Madrid in La Liga and also in the Copa del Rey. It may go too far to accuse Zinedine Zidane of having favorites in the team, but some players seem to have a guaranteed place in the starting lineup even if they don't deserve it.
One of the most criticised players in the team, striker Karim Benzema, has been given a chance to overturn his poor form over and over again. He has miserably failed to do so almost every time, with even his strongest supporters having to shake their heads in disbelief.
There is no doubt that Karim Benzema is an excellent player, but the striker is clearly having a very long spell of bad performances, and it should be clear to any coach that his place with his current form is on the bench, not in the starting lineup.
Failing to see these issues doesn't only hurt the team's results, but the motivation of other players as well. What good is it, if they give it their all everytime they get a chance, if you have players with guaranteed positions in the starting lineups of the big games?
This applies not only to Benzema, but also every to the other players who are not having a great time on the field at the moment. Recently, players like Marcelo, Kroos and even Ronaldo have shown signs of fatigue and unusually bad performances.
The coach must take notice of that, give those players some bench time and good training, and let the others prove their worth.
The Author's Take
The coach must take notice of these issues and give the players that are out of form some time on the bench and good training, while letting the others prove their value to the club.
La Liga may be out of reach for Real Madrid, but the other competitions are not. It is never too late to turn things around, and it is high time to start making the right moves.
