Real Madrid: 3 ways Zinedine Zidane transformed the defense

Real Madrid is a football club who are seen as the greatest club in the history of football, due to their rich history. The club never had a particular footballing philosophy like Barcelona or Ajax, the club has always been about winning and fighting till the end. Despite the absence of a particular brand of football with a sexy name that rolls off the tongue quite easily, Real Madrid has always been known for their attacking football which won them a lot of trophies.

But ever since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the greatest goalscorer in the club history, the club hasn’t been the same in the attack. They haven’t been able to properly replace a player who could score 40 goals a season, with the replacements being a creative winger who has become injury prone and a Brazilian youngster who has trouble scoring goals.

Despite not being the best defensively, Real Madrid had the ability to outscore their opponents with high-quality attackers leading the line. But after Ronaldo’s departure, Real Madrid lost that ability and ended trophyless that season. Then came the saviour Zinedine Zidane at the worst time possible.

He had to bring a lot of changes, and he had to make Real Madrid the winners again. But he didn’t have the luxury of having that fearful attack that once scored 173 goals in the 2016-17 season. Even though Real Madrid got a top-class individual in Eden Hazard, his constant injuries meant he couldn’t really be integrated into the team.

Then Zidane made a change which won Real Madrid the league in 2019/20. Since the attacking tactics used by him in his first spell couldn’t work on a consistent basis with injuries hurting his cause, he took up a conservative approach that focused more on defensive solidity. And that tweak worked a wonder, as Real Madrid won their 34th LaLiga title and set up a lot of defensive records that season.

Real Madrid conceded 44 and 46 league goals in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons respectively, finishing third on both occasions. But in 2019/20, they conceded just 25 goals all season, the lowest number of goals Real Madrid have ever conceded in a 38-game LaLiga season and won 87 points, which is 19 points more than the 2018-19 tally. Even in the 2020/21 season, they conceded just 28 goals, while finishing second with 84 points to their name.

A lot of credit should be given to our former manager Zinedine Zidane for that massive defensive transformation. But how did he achieve that change? Let’s take a deep dive into that topic.