Has Santiago Solari established himself as the true successor of Zidane's legacy?

Santiago Solari was a pivotal figure in the midfield for Real Madrid in the era of Galacticos. Little did he know, that he would eventually turn out to be the man calling the shots from the dugout a decade later.

After Julen Lopetegui's harrowing tale with Real Madrid came to an end, Solari took up the challenge of managing the biggest club in the world making Perez reach out to one of his ex-players once again.

Since his appointment, the Argentinian has turned things for Madrid. Having managed the Castilla before taking over the senior team, Solari has placed his reliance on the youth players giving them many chances to start while resting the senior players.

The results have improved as Los Blancos have lost just one game and won eight in all competitions since Solari has taken over – making him the first manager to register four wins in his first four games for Los Blancos.

Solari with the winning mantra for Los Blancos

His tendency to place trust on young talents like Vinicius Jr, Alvaro Odriozola, Sergio Reguilon, Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos reminds us of Zidane's vision for using Marco Asensio, Mateo Kovacic, Danilo, Isco, Nacho and Lucas Vazquez in crucial situations and turning the tide in Real's favour when needed.

The tactic did work as Real lifted three consecutive Champions League titles under Zizou and Solari seem to be on the same page utilising his second choice of players while keeping the regulars for the Champions League.

In hindsight, one could argue Solari has found an ageing team, but he has given prominence to players who haven't indeed featured much in the previous season.

Having played as a midfielder during his days at the Bernabeu, Solari is well aware of Real's attacking style of play. In his approach, he likes to attack from the wings providing crosses in the box with the centre-backs dropping deep as the midfield aim to find space between opposition defence line and link up with the forwards.

Benzema with his trademark celebration

The Argentinian ended the longest goal scoring drought in club's history while instilling a new sense of faith in his forward Karim Benzema, as Real's No. 9 returned to his goalscoring form quickly. Gareth Bale has looked sharper but the defensive problems continue to haunt Solari as Real have just been able to keep one clean sheet away from home in La Liga.

A daunting task is upon Solari as he has faced rather easy opponents in his tenure at the Bernabeu with the only real challenge coming against AS Roma which he successfully eased through. He will surely be tested soon when Real begins their defence of the Club World Cup title in U.A.E. on 19th December, a title they defended successfully last year courtesy to their ex-talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

With the domestic league picking up pace and the Club World Cup knocking at the door, Solari's tryst with Los Blancos will surely be tested. He might be the man who took Real back to winning ways but if he wants the fans back in Madrid to chant his name, he will surely be expected to deliver the promise that Zidane fulfilled.