Real Madrid, in recent years, have been criticized for lacking an ability to aesthetically please the audience, which indirectly trickles down up to the suite levels with individuals who appear to have no clear sense of the club’s purpose which basically was fueled by the sacking of Ancelotti – the Italian who only failed to win the league title and Super Cup during his short tenure at the club.
Don’t get me wrong. Ronaldo scoring 30+ a season with his right, his left, his head, his chest, penalties, free-kicks as Bale and Marcelo make those mesmerizing runs on the wings and Modric trying to split the defense is all well and good but there is no consistency in entertainment.
Though it is told, not to compare current times with those in the past, of course it is not easy to ignore the era of the early 2000’s when Real Madrid made up of names like Ronaldo (the Brazilian), Carlos, Figo, Zidane and Raul among the few. Many of us had been blessed to watch these legends regale us during their prime and it was beautiful.
Freshly appointed manager Zinedine Zidane is entering upon one of the Real Madrid’s most vital and powerful jobs as an unknown quantity (from a coaching perspective). So far, he has issued a few words on comparing him with ex Barca legend Guardiola, relationship with players and that he will do his best on which he plans to focus.
A few have questioned Real Madrid’s intent on bringing in Zidane like former boss John Toshack, suggesting: “Zidane was a terrific player, but his managerial experience is zero.”
But how can the new manager reveal plans for the club’s future when there is no perfect sense of what it exists to do? Real Madrid as a club, desperately needs some reflective self-analysis to prepare it for the future.
The Real Madrid charter, has been ambiguous and surprisingly explicit to a certain extent. It is a mixture of objectives and tactics, from winning all sort of titles to bringing in quality players to support Ronaldo. It promises to exist for the sake of the million or so Madridistas around the world.
Coming back to Zizou, although, his relationship with the current crop of players is similar to that of Guardiola while the latter was in-charge at Camp Nou (hence the comparison), it is widely expected him to leverage on this link to motivate players so that it churns out positive performances each time they step onto the pitch. But the bigger concern is of reports suggesting that there might be exodus of star players from the club in the summer. And while the thought of leaving the club hovered over a few names for quite some time, the uncertainty that exists currently will only drive sentiments of what’s next.
Then there is the question of ego’s in the dressing room. Zidane was a leader during his time. And according to another former manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Ronaldo must surrender that spot to Zidane.
“Zidane was a leader in the dressing room when he was a player and Cristiano should realize that now there is a person with leadership and understanding of the game in charge.”
Regardless, Zidane has set a clear purpose for himself in terms of what he wants to achieve at the club, as of immediately – which is the Champions League giving way to hear-say that he has already given up on winning the La Liga. He is also one of the few Real Madrid managers who have come out in recent times to say that he wants to play beautiful football before mentioning the importance of winning games which kind of makes the prospect of drooling over the club sound all the more exciting.
“Good football has always been important at this place and I am going to continue that. It has to be offensive football, balanced, and nothing else.”
Whether the statement takes back to the Real of the early 2000’s, we will have to wait and see but for some people Real Madrid as a club is plain as day, others claim it is nothing but old-fashioned paranoia.
With a clear sense of mission, the next five months could be the most meaningful and “innovative” times Real Madrid has ever experienced in recent years. Without it, both Zidane and Real Madrid risk embarking on football for football’s sake; a revolution refracted to extraneous.
As for Zidane, he will be aware of how the club differentiates between the status of a player and that of a manager, and that his legendary status will not help as he stands on the sidelines. With managing big clubs comes big responsibilities. Former manager and current city gaffer Manuel Pellegrini had a few words for Zidane as he ventures into the unknown.
“Managing a big team is always very difficult and Real Madrid is a very difficult team. But it is more difficult in the way they manage the club than in the position of the manager.”
