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Zinedine Zidane is having a tough-time this season as the head coach of Real Madrid. His first two seasons as manager have been largely successful with back to back Champions League titles. But a slump in performances have seen Madrid fall off the pace in the League with Barcelona opening up a 15 point lead and only 10 games to go.
This has caused Zidane to face a lot of criticism from all sections of the Madrid media, with his every move being watched closely.
The current situation with the World Cup winner goes on to show that being a manager is a thankless job. The Spanish outlets have not let him rest easy with questions being raised about his team selections as well as his perceived inability to tactically change the outcome of a match.
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We at SK disagree and came up with 5 reasons why the Madrid media needs to go shove it.
#5 Zidane walks into the dressing room and automatically commands everyone's respect
What do you do when you have a team full of superstars, each with an ego to boot?
Simple. You get a guy who is, well, simply better than all of them. Or in this case, keep the guy who is better than all of them.
Zinedine Zidane needs no introduction for the squad to sit up and take notice, neither does the footballing world. The space he's carved out for himself in the game is matched only by a few, if any.
Therefore, when he walks into the dressing room filled with Galacticos, Zidane will be heard and his instructions will be carried out on the field (something others like Rafael Benitez failed miserably at doing in the Spanish capital).
It isn't easy to command a squad of supremely talented players including the Portuguese megastar and still get them to function as a unit. Even in a dismal campaign, the Frenchman has not only got them to play some scintillating stuff, but has also revived the form of the most-known footballer on the planet.
Your side can be in trouble if the squad thinks it knows more than the one in-charge. Luckily with Zidane, that can't possibly be the case.
#4 Zidane has held his own against his contemporaries
In the short span that he has been heading the most-decorated club in world football, Zidane has managed to not be phased by the towering statures of those who've been in the game for a lot longer than he has.
The former Ballon d'Or winner has a very impressive record against the top managers in world football.
He's managed to win 3 out of the 5 matches that've ended with three points going to one side, against bitter city rivals Atletico Madrid, with Simeone managing 2. His record against Barcelona's head coach is even better, winning 5 out of the 6 matches that the two have come up against each other.
Zidane can boast of a hundred percent win record against Unai Emery, and his former mentor at Madrid - Carlo Ancelotti.
With those kinds of figures it is really surprising that the 3-time player of the year has come under such harsh criticism from supporters of the club.
#3 Zidane has overseen the development of Madrid's finest batch of home grown youngsters in the recent past
Real Madrid have diverted towards using home grown players only as back-ups rather than as regular starters. In the recent past the likes of Jese, Callejon and Dani Parejo have all moved onto different clubs citing lack of playing-time as the reason.
The situation seems to have changed since Zidane's taken over.
Lucas Vazquez, Marco Asensio, Nacho Fernández and Dani Carvajal are all regulars on the team sheet under Zidane and they've repaid the faith of the manger by taking their performances up a coupe of notches.
This stat is telling - as far as Zidane trusting the youngsters in the team is concerned. So is the one related to assists by Carvajal; going up to 21 from 8 under Ancelotti.
Madrid's new darling, Marco Asensio, has had a breakthrough first couple of seasons under the manager while he was sent out on loan under Benitez. The Spaniard has already scored 20 and assisted another 9 in just 77 matches for his side.
#2 Zizou brings with him, his own brand of football
The former Champions League winner as a player with Madrid, has been successful at one thing beyond any doubt - get Real to play high-tempo counter-attacking football, like they did when he wore the white for the Los Blancos.
Madrid have been criticised for adopting a risk-free approach to football under recent managements (Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez for instance). Zidane has course-corrected that.
Under the Frenchman the team is once again playing with a sense of freedom and purpose, rather than looking to just nick the game. In 86 matches in the league, Zidane has managed his team to victory in 63 matches, losing just 9. So the success of his style of play is also undeniable.
But what is really heartening to see is the emphasis on attacking rather than holding on, a point corroborated by the 420 goals his team has scored during his time with Madrid.
The focus should always remain on the beautiful game and few have the vision to implement an exciting version of football, but Zinedine Zidane...
#1 Two seasons : Two Champions League titles
Do we really need more proof?
It's hard enough coming in as manager of a club that has literally won it all, on multiple occasions at that. Real Madrid have no shortage of silverware but the one they crave the most is undoubtedly the Champions League.
After assisting Carlo Ancelotti in winning Madrid's La Decima, the Frenchman wasted no time in etching his name deep into footballing history.
Faced with the almost impossible task of elevating a club higher than the stratospheric levels it already was in, Zidane aimed for the stars. He went after the only record still standing in the history of the competition.
No team had been able to retain their European crown.
Enter the maestro.
Not only did he manage to win the title in his first season in-charge but he raised the bar by adding a second in the following season. What more can you ask for!?
Zidane has always managed to get his team to raise their level of performances on big nights. This stat is an indicator.
The turn around against PSG at home to take control of the tie is stuff of legends. Zidane has brushed aside any queries regarding his tactical capabilities time and again by successfully altering the course of a match, and thereby, that of history.
We have little doubt that the Frenchman is the best that Madrid can do at the moment, if not ever.
