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Given the success that Zinedine Zidane has enjoyed in his time as a coach, it is easy to forget that he has been in the dugout for little more than two years.
Under his hand, Real Madrid won a string of trophies, with three Champions League titles coming their way under the guidance of the Frenchman, who has yet to suffer elimination from Europe’s premier competition.
But just five days after beating Liverpool 3-1 to claim his latest silverware, he announced that he would be leaving the Santiago Bernabeu, citing that another approach was required to get the best from the team in the months ahead.
He leaves behind an incredible legacy of success, and while his time at the club was not without its hiccups, what he will be remembered for is the steady stream of major trophies he brought over a spell that spanned fewer than 30 months.
With that in mind, here are five of Zizou’s greatest achievements in charge of Los Blancos:
#5 Clasico debut ends in glory
The Clasico is a unique match. Not only is there a deep divide between Real Madrid and Barcelona culturally, which has manifest itself on the football field, it is a clash between arguably the two greatest football clubs in the world. As such, for coaches it represents a baptism of fire, no matter the level of experience.
For Zidane, who had his first experience of the fixture in April 2016, just 15 matches into his top-level coaching career, it was, therefore, an especially big challenge.
Real Madrid’s previous five coaches, including the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, had failed to claim bragging rights over Barca in their first matches in charge. Indeed, not since Bernd Schuster nearly a decade earlier had a coach of Los Blancos come out on top first time against the Catalans.
Zidane, though, put an end to that miserable sequence. Moreover, he did it at Camp Nou.
It took until the second half for the deadlock to be broken by Gerard Pique, but Madrid fought back, showing an ability to cope with adversity that was evident throughout Zidane’s reign. Six minutes after they fell behind, Karim Benzema levelled, and after Sergio Ramos was dismissed late on, Gareth Bale set up Cristiano Ronaldo to score the winner.
Barca went on to win the league by a single point, but this victory showed that after a poor start to the season under Rafael Benitez, that Zidane had turned them around.
#4 Claiming his first European crown
Zidane’s collection of trophies as a player was virtually unmatched. When he turned out as a playmaker, he won all of the top prizes the game had to offer, from the World Cup to the Serie A title.
As a coach, then, it was only natural that he should start this fresh trophy collection in a spectacular manner. He did so by winning the Champions League, confirming the turnaround that had been hinted at in the league.
It was not an achievement short of drama, although a couple of 2-0 wins over Roma in the round of 16 did represent a pretty straightforward baptism in the European game for Zidane the coach.
Things rapidly grew more complicated for a Madrid side still feeling their way tentatively back to their best. A 2-0 defeat in Wolfsburg in the quarter-finals might have seen them eliminated, but they roared back to win the second leg 3-0, thereby setting up a date with Manchester City.
Yet to come under the guidance of great Barcelona foe Pep Guardiola, City succumbed to a streetwise performance from Madrid, who won by a single strike – an own goal – over two legs.
Then came the challenge of Atletico Madrid in the final. Diego Simeone’s men were by now well established as a ferociously difficult side to beat. Although Sergio Ramos opened the scoring after quarter of an hour, Atleti hit back late on, taking the game to extra-time and then penalties.
In a battle of two mentally tough sides, though, it was Real who came through, converting all their penalties to give Zidane the perfect conclusion to his first season in the dugout.
#3 Seizing La Liga glory
Asked at his farewell press conference what the highlight of his time at Real Madrid was, Zidane was clear: “If there’s one as a coach, it was winning La Liga. For me that was the top.”
Zidane knew exactly how much of an achievement it was lifting Los Blancos back to the top of the pile in Spain. Barcelona have been the specialists in La Liga for several years now, while the additional challenge of Atletico Madrid made life even tougher for a team that had rather lost their way in the competition.
When he took charge of the team, they were floundering in pursuit of Barca, yet 18 months later they were once again the kings of Spain, having failed to win the crown in the previous five years.
Although Zidane’s sides were not necessarily noted for their breath-taking attacking football, they still managed to score an astonishing 106 goals during that campaign, during which they suffered only three defeats.
It was all the more remarkable that they were able to retain their Champions League crown in the process, thanks to a victory over Juventus in Cardiff.
For Zizou, though, the ultimate achievement was the league success. It was proof that he had built a side not just capable of explosive matches of brilliance, but also of sustained quality of the highest order.
#2 Writing Champions League history
When Zidane had taken the hot seat at the Bernabeu, it barely looked plausible that Real Madrid could win one European Cup, let alone become the first team to defend the Champions League crown in history.
It had been 27 years since AC Milan had won the famous old trophy in back-to-back years, and the competitive nature of the game had been highlighted since by the fact that no other side was able to replicate the feat.
Unfazed by the burden of history, Zidane set about rewriting it in his own hand. All the while that Madrid were edging towards the Spanish title, they were doing likewise in Europe.
Napoli were eased past in the round of 16, after Madrid had progressed as group winners in an uneasy manner under pressure from Paris Saint-Germain. They flirted with elimination at the quarter-final stage, pushed to extra-time by Bayern Munich after losing 2-1 at home, but they eased past Atletico Madrid courtesy of a 3-0 home win, which set up a date with Juventus.
At the Millennium Stadium, it was to be an evening upon which everything went right for Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a deflected shot, and though Mario Mandzukic levelled, Casemiro put the Spaniards ahead again courtesy of another deviated effort. Three minutes later, Ronaldo had his second and the game was finally killed off by Marco Asensio.
Real’s run was not spectacular, but they had a knack for producing the big moments when they were most needed, typifying Zidane’s reign.
#1 And then doing it again
The last of Zidane’s 149 matches in charge of Real Madrid proved to be one of the most memorable as he guided his side to a third successive Champions League trophy. It was an achievement that no club had managed since the 1970s, when Bayern Munich won a hat-trick of titles from 1974 to 1976, and it may well be that it goes unmatched for a similar period of time.
After Atletico Madrid and Juventus, Liverpool were Madrid’s victims this time around. They made a rocky start to the game, but once Mohamed Salah had been withdrawn injured, the self-belief in Jurgen Klopp’s side started to fade, with Madrid taking over.
Led by Sergio Ramos, who was imperious at the back, Madrid took the lead when Karim Benzema’s brilliant piece of opportunism left Loris Karius red-faced, and though Liverpool rapidly hit back, Zidane’s decision to introduce Gareth Bale was as timely as it was brilliant.
The Welshman scored a brilliant overhead kick to put Madrid back into the ascendancy and then fired home from long range as Karius was again found wanting in the Reds’ net.
It was not Madrid’s best performance by any stretch, but they were deserving winners in the end and wrote themselves into the history books in the process.
Zidane’s crowning achievement will be one not long forgotten.
