Maybe calling him a complete fraud is a bit over the top, but really they were already the finished article and just needed someone with a stature grand enough to manage the egos. Zidane fit this mould perfectly. The team could basically pick and play itself, so flushed with talent it was. It’s not totally unusual for a team that’s already set and established to produce great things, Chelsea reached a CL final under Avram Grant and won it under Di Matteo. I’m not saying you don’t need a head coach, but it’s interesting to see how far you can get with a team of highly driven and talented winners.
Zidane sack watch - 19/20
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Maybe calling him a complete fraud is a bit over the top, but really they were already the finished article and just needed someone with a stature grand enough to manage the egos. Zidane fit this mould perfectly. The team could basically pick and play itself, so flushed with talent it was. It’s not totally unusual for a team that’s already set and established to produce great things, Chelsea reached a CL final under Avram Grant and won it under Di Matteo. I’m not saying you don’t need a head coach, but it’s interesting to see how far you can get with a team of highly driven and talented winners.
Aw yes it's not like he had 6-7 World Class players all in their prime
I reckon he’s gone by Xmas.
Aw yes it's not like he had 6-7 World Class players all in their prime
He's not the only Real Madrid manager who had that.
Jose and Ancelotti did too.
They didn't win 3 straight titles.
He may be a complete failure during his 2nd stint, but he deserves credit for his remarkable 1st stint.
He led Real to their first European double since the 60's or something as well.
Aw yes it's not like he had 6-7 World Class players all in their prime
I don't rate Zidane that much, but Pep has yet to win it with City and I'd say he's got around 6/7 world class players at his disposal.
Not in prime they didn't. Marcelo for example hasn't played as good as he has in those 3 years in UCL same for Modric and then there's Bale the joker
Yes they did.
Ronaldo was arguably better in 2012 than 2016-2018. So was Benzema. Higuain too.
They had Pepe-Ramos still on top of their game. Marcelo wasn't perhaps 'peak form', but he was still in his prime. They had Ozil who was very good back then. Xabi Alonso.
They always had 5+ world class players.
Zidane was the only one who took them to 3 straight UCL titles.
What was the point of him returning ? I don't get it. One of the most stupid decisions I have ever seen football wise.
He won everything and walked on his own the first time. The team was getting old and it was obvious it needs a rebuilding job and he respected his inability to do this and walked with a major success.
To just return to exactly the same team less than 1 year later, what's the fecking point ?
If he had waited till summer, he would have been managing Juve now, with a full ready team + Ronaldo and having another big chance to win CL + guaranteed league titles.
He was never a guy with a clear cut style or a guy suitable for a major rebuilding job so him deciding to return to Madrid at this stage was really stupid.
It's like he was upset he didn't get the sack the first and decided to return to get sacked like the rest of Madrid managers.
He won everything and walked on his own the first time. The team was getting old and it was obvious it needs a rebuilding job and he respected his inability to do this and walked with a major success.
To just return to exactly the same team less than 1 year later, what's the fecking point ?
If he had waited till summer, he would have been managing Juve now, with a full ready team + Ronaldo and having another big chance to win CL + guaranteed league titles.
He was never a guy with a clear cut style or a guy suitable for a major rebuilding job so him deciding to return to Madrid at this stage was really stupid.
It's like he was upset he didn't get the sack the first and decided to return to get sacked like the rest of Madrid managers.
On the big soccer forums (very popular in the U.S.) the knives are out for Zidane. What's hilarious though is that many are asking for Mourinho to return! 
That would be awesome!
That would be awesome!He was probably promised Hazard, Pogba and Mbappe/Neymar and ended up only getting one of them.
The white hankies will be out soon
If Zidane gets sacked, Pogba ain't going. Can see a 5yr £500k per week contract getting signed at that point.
I'm sure too. Doesn't mean it's happening.
That team selection tonight, no ball winning quality or defensive resistance. Neither of Hazard or Bale contribute much defensively, James in attacking midfield is the same, Kroos has dropped off in that side of his game. Plenty of talent on paper but absurdly balanced.
Does it ever work out with managers going back a second time? Cant think of many. Most not after a few/several years away. Some off the top of my head down the years, Keegan >Newcastle, Dagleish > Liverpool, Mourinho > Chelsea (short success) McLaren > Twente. Zidane only came back less than a year, should have stayed away whilst his stock was high.
Which is why I didn't understand the Pogba fascination. He's a fantastic player but he doesn't fix any of their issues. He'd just add to them, in fact.
The only one I can think of that was incredibly succesful was Jupp Heynecks with Bayern(his 2nd spell)
I think Real's domination is done, not because of Zidane, but because of Ronaldo. People tend to forget that Real couldn't get past the round of 16 for 8 years in a row. Ronaldo's insane numbers created an illusion that Real was bigger than it was. And now that he left it is showing. Even if they bring Neymar/Mbappe they will still struggle to reach the heights of prior years. You can't replace a 50+ goal per season player.
As soon as Messi will leave Barca, the same fate awaits them.
Would end up being used as an orthodox midfielder with another manager hoping they can be the one to get him to adapt to that role.
His greatest achievement will always be resurrecting a lost team in Jan '16 (built around CR-Benzema-Bale-Kroos-Modrid-Casemiro-Ramos) and gaining enough momentum to reach a UCL and win it against Atlético in the penalties. The great 16-17 season, Liga+UCL double, was still part of that winter-spring 2016 momentum.
After that it went downhill. The 17-18 UCL title was mainly CR's (not facing Barça also helped) but LaLiga campaign was bad enough. It was a mistake coming back, especially in winter 2019. Solari should have finished the season. It's the polar opposite of 2016.
I don't know if Floren will sack him or not before Xmas, but one thing is for sure: Zidane needed/needs CR just as much as Pep needed/needs Messi.
After that it went downhill. The 17-18 UCL title was mainly CR's (not facing Barça also helped) but LaLiga campaign was bad enough. It was a mistake coming back, especially in winter 2019. Solari should have finished the season. It's the polar opposite of 2016.
I don't know if Floren will sack him or not before Xmas, but one thing is for sure: Zidane needed/needs CR just as much as Pep needed/needs Messi.
fixed
true.But all the money in this world won't produce a new Messi, unless Mbappé reaches an even higher level.
Or Jardim. Strange how these managers performance drops when the players they have aren't as good or on the decline. Maybe we could learn something when judging our own manager.
Always funny to see people using Zidane’s or Poch’s struggles to justify and/or explain us having and keeping a poor manager like Ole
And Bale was?
Always seemed a curious (if not silly) decision to return when it was announced. Looking more and more that way with each passing week. He should have kept his rightfully earned place among the greats and stayed as far away as possible. This won't last too long...
Oh yes, him too, and Modric. And Karius.
What he achieved is amazing, nevertheless that's were it ends, on a tactically side he was nothing special. He was free almost the entire year yet no club sniffed around him, even though he was a 3peat CL winner. Eventually with Perez failed managers he got him back as Madrid needed a manager and Zidane needed a job it was the best job for him.
Zidane is nothing without Ronaldo and Bale combo, those two won it for RM with key goals in the later stages. Ronaldo created so much space for the rest of the team .
Yep. Barca are getting a glimpse into their future once Messi leaves. It'll be quite the come down. South is the only immediate direction when you lose such a player.
Gone by Christmas potentially. Losing to PSG in that manner when theyre lacking so many key players is bonkers, especially when you consider the team we took there and beat a similar PSG team. If he leaves, Pogba won't be going to Madrid I fear - we'll end up giving him 500k a week to turn up 1/4 games for us, which would be quite fitting really.
Wheres Casimerio gone?
Casemiro was on the field.
Was he? I must have missed him
I only realized it when he challenged Kimpembe on the left wing which was well into the game. None of Madrid midfielders where present and he was the worst because useless in all phases.
Glad we never made him our manager, would love to see Pogba leave us for them and fail big time
So you want to see our only creative player leave just to prove some weird point?
His first stint at Real was sensational: in 3 seasons he won more CL trophies than Fergie, Mourinho and Guardiola have managed (so far). But the second stint will go some way in determining how much it was due to Ronaldo and the players and how much to Zidane himself. Bad start to his second stint.
No Ronaldo = no trophies for Zizou.
I'm hoping for a Mourinho 2nd stint
Surely, if Zidane got the elbow and Jose took over, that would end the Pogba transfer speculation stone dead?
I'm not saying that Juventus or Barcelona wouldn't be interested, but I think the Madrid link would be extremely unlikely.
I think he is a great motivator and player manager. It’s no coincidence that he seemed to have learned a lot from Ancelotti of all people. Their approach strikes me as quite similar. The issue he’s now facing is simply that he‘s not that great of a tactician. So like Ancelotti, he needs midfielders to run the show for him and he needs strong personalities on and off the pitch to lead the team, verbally and by example. I‘m not sure he has that at Real right now. So I think he won’t be successful there for his second stint.
What they need right now is a more tactically focused manager who installs a new approach for the firewalls future. Zidane doesn’t strike me as the guy who can rebuild a team.
Right now, I think he’s the wrong manager at the wrong time for them. But calling him a fraud or suggesting he simply got lucky, is by no means right. He’s an excellent manager, at least he’s been one so far.
What they need right now is a more tactically focused manager who installs a new approach for the firewalls future. Zidane doesn’t strike me as the guy who can rebuild a team.
Right now, I think he’s the wrong manager at the wrong time for them. But calling him a fraud or suggesting he simply got lucky, is by no means right. He’s an excellent manager, at least he’s been one so far.
Would have flopped very badly at Manchester United.
Jupp's second time was in 2009, filling in after we sacked Klinsmann. The treble was during his third time at Bayern. He then had a fourth stint after Ancelotti.