Judgement Day For Real Madrid As Zidane's Second Coming Looms
14th August 2019
Marcelo, Casemiro and Keylor Navas have stayed while Marcos Llorente was allowed to join Atletico Madrid and Sergio Reguilon and Dani Ceballos were both sent out on loan
- Zinedine Zidane returned to save Real Madrid and the time has come for results
- Some might have expected a bounce but nobody blamed the coach when performances continued to drag and the gap behind Barcelona, rather than narrowing, widened
- Some might have expected a bounce but nobody blamed the coach when performances continued to drag and the gap behind Barcelona, rather than narrowing, widened
MADRID, Spain-
Zinedine Zidane returned to save Real Madrid and the time has come for
results.
In a packed-out
press conference under the Santiago Bernabeu in March, the club's president
Florentino Perez delivered the grandest of re-introductions.
"We need to
start working on a glorious new era," said Perez. "That is why we
welcome back Zinedine Zidane."
Some might have
expected a bounce but nobody blamed the coach when performances continued to
drag and the gap behind Barcelona, rather than narrowing, widened.
Zidane took over a
team with nothing to play for and a squad he knew was in need of reform. He
knew because he had left it nine months earlier, just before it was
broken.
There was no quick
fix. In his 11 games at the end of last season, Madrid won five, the only
promise of progress the words Zidane kept repeating. "Things will change,
for sure," he said.
Zidane denied it but
they were seen as trials, every line-up scanned for clues as to who would
survive the summer.
MUST
READ: Gor Mahia Coach Pollack Confident Despite CAF First Leg Draw
Yet in some ways,
none of it mattered and the results, not to mention attendances at the Santiago
Bernabeu, said as much. "The best thing for us is that it's over,"
said Zidane, after the season ended in defeat.
And now it begins
again, the season, and Zidane's second era as coach.
Many wondered why he
came back, risking everything after the perfection of three Champions League
titles out of three.
The assumption was
he returned to a stronger hand, able to make demands the club were ready to
meet and with the backing to rebuild in the way he had always wanted.
He might have been
encouraged too, when Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Luka Jovic, Rodrygo and Eden
Hazard all signed for a total close to 300 million euros.
Hazard was the
headline act, a throw-back to a previous era that Zidane knew well, when the
world's most glamorous players seemed to walk through the doors every
year.
"I'm not a
galactico, not yet, but I hope I will be one day," said Hazard when he
joined.
- Bale stalemate -
But Madrid's pockets
are not as deep as they once were and sales were also needed, by the club and
their coach.
Zidane showed no
inclination to make soothe and use Gareth Bale, instead urging the Welshman to
make a move to China.
READ
ALSO: Djokovic, Federer Sail Through As Serena Williams Pulls Out In Cincinnati
"It is very
close," Zidane said. "We hope he leaves soon, it would be best for
everyone."
Bale's agent told
AFP Zidane was a "disgrace" and if the Frenchman had hoped to push
the deal over the line, he would be disappointed as Madrid changed their mind
over the fee.
James Rodriguez is
also yet to leave and there were others that proved more difficult to bring in
such as Paul Pogba and even Neymar.
In other areas,
Zidane has resisted change, backing experience over youth even if many believed
experience last season had turned into apathy.
Marcelo, Casemiro
and Keylor Navas have stayed while Marcos Llorente was allowed to join Atletico
Madrid and Sergio Reguilon and Dani Ceballos were both sent out on loan.
For all the talk of
upheaval, Madrid's line-up against Celta Vigo on Saturday is likely to have a
distinctly familiar feel.
Yet there could be a
new formation, with a 3-5-2 tried after some underwhelming showings in
pre-season, allowing Marcelo and Dani Carvajal greater freedom as wing-backs
and Hazard to play centrally behind Karim Benzema.
RECOMMENDED
READ: Migne Out! Amrouche Next? The Search For Kenya's Next Coach Continues
And a shift in
focus. Madrid have won La Liga only once in the last seven years, their
failures in Spain excused only by unprecedented success in Europe.
"For us next
year, the league must be our number one priority," Zidane said in
April.
In that sense,
Madrid might profit if Barcelona aim their focus at the Champions League. But
the Catalans and Atletico Madrid have both strengthened and look ready to
challenge again.
"La Liga is the
longest competition, it's the one that cannot be missed," Zidane said.
"I'm going to drill that in the heads of my players." His players.
Now they have to deliver.