Is Zinedine Zidane’s job still in trouble at Real Madrid?
The Champions League win against PSG has put a different complexion on Real Madrid’s season. However after such a disastrous campaign, is it enough to save Zidane’s job? I decided to look at the Frenchman’s job security below.
Why are we talking about this now?
I know what you are thinking. Why are we talking about Zizou’s job security now that the team looks to finally be in form?
It may be a bitter pill for Madridistas to swallow, but Real Madrid are still very far from winning anything this season. Consider the task at hand, the last team to win three European Cups in a row was Bayern Munich in 1976. That same decade, Ajax had their own run of three, Liverpool won three in five years, their run broken up by Nottingham Forest famous back to back wins at the end of the decade.
That means that only four teams won the European Cup throughout the 1970s, such a period of sustained dominance is unheard of and considering Madrid are now trying to replicate a similar run of dominance (this would be their fourth title in five years) in the competition’s most competitive era, it’s a very big ask for Los Blancos.
Outside of an unlikely Champions League, Madrid are 15 point off Barcelona at the top of La Liga, were knocked out of the Copa Del Rey by minnows Leganes and only looked secure in the Champions League spots at the end of last month. It has been a really bad season for Madrid. Hence, questioning Zidane’s position not only makes sense, but also something that will likely be questioned come the summer. As always I am early to the party.
Will he and should he?
It is important to realize that whether Zidane will be sacked and if he should be are two very different questions. Silverware will save the Frenchman’s job, without a doubt. Few managers have been sacked at Real Madrid after winning a trophy, with Vicente Del Bosque in 2003 and Jupp Heycenkes in 1998 the few recent examples I can think of. Heycenkes sacking was justified as he had lost the Real Madrid dressing room and despite winning the Champions League, Madrid’s poor league finish proved more than enough for the club to part ways with the German. Del Bosque sacking was a complicated affair, worthy of an article in itself. In short, Perez felt that the club needed a change and Del Bosque wasn’t the right man to lead the squad at that time.
Usually, the standard at Real Madrid is that if you dont win a trophy, you get sacked, especially when your two or three years into the job. However, there is still some room to wonder if Zizou will get a free pass for this season.
Unique to Zidane’s predecessors, Perez has a very strong working relationship with Zidane. As a player, Zidane was Perez’s first Galatico and has been linked with the club and Perez since his retirement in 2006. Zidane was Perez adviser for 4 years before becoming Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant coach. If there ever was a coach who was going to get another chance after a poor season, Zidane will be the one to get it.
The pros and cons of keeping Zidane
This leads us to our next question which is should Zidane be allowed another year at the club? This one has it own unique pros and cons. On one hand, Zidane has led Real Madrid into one of its most successful periods in the modern era. Not to mention that one cant completely blame Zidane for Madrid’s woes this season with some key players only recently finding their form.
While much of this is true, however Zidane isn’t innocent of any wrongdoing for what has happened this season. Namely his stubbornness over tactics have cost Madrid dearly, and had the problem been addressed earlier, the season might have panned out differently.
There is the more delicate issue of decline. In times like these, where Modric is at his best, Ramos is turning up on the big occasions and Ronaldo is scoring clutch goals once more, it is difficult to accept that Real Madrid is heading to the end of a cycle.
For more than half the season, we have seen that this team has clearly declined as a unit, this is natural, but, it cannot be left unaddressed for much longer. It seems to me that Real Madrid are set for a very interesting summer transfer window, it promises to be busy and full of surprises and none of us can really predict what this side will look like come August.
The elephant in the room, is that Zidane has stuck by much of this team since he has took over and one has to wonder if he has the guts to do the job that needs to be done this summer. Is he prepared to address clear signs of decline in his squad or are we going to end up with the same 11 men on the field next season.
Next: Player ratings from Real Madrid’s 2-1 win against Eibar
Conclusions
As always, I feel the answer lies somewhere in the middle, Zidane deserves a second chance at Madrid, however, Florentino must ensure that the two men are on the same page on what Real Madrid need in the summer. Should the differ in opinion, then I’m afraid that we will have say farewell to Zinedine Zidane.