For a manager who has only lost four games in all competitions during the 2016/17 season, and just six in his entire tenure in the Real Madrid dugout, to be talking about Zinedine Zidane getting the sack may seem a little facetious.
However, after a stunning last-gasp El Clásico loss, the cracks have begun to appear and things that were bubbling under the surface are now coming to the fore.
Lest we forget that President, Florentino Perez, isn’t frightened of dispensing with anyone whom he feels have served their purpose. Lest Zidane forgets Carlo Ancelotti who was shown the exit door after winning the Champions League and going on a 22-game mid-season winning streak!
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Let’s take a look at five reasons why the Frenchman could soon have the same fate as the Italian:
#1 Always insisting on playing BBC
Barcelona have MSN, Real have BBC. The headline makes. The world’s best attacking trios. Or they were. In the ongoing season, BBC are well behind their Catalan contemporaries in terms of goals scored and assists provided.
Despite this, Zidane is insistent and unapologetic that he will always start with BBC when they’re available. As was proved against Barcelona, it was a decision that was to his detriment.
Perhaps his single-minded belief that the three are the right men for the job should be lauded, and yet if they’re off form there is also a cogent argument that they need to be dropped in favour of players who have warmed the bench for much of the season but who have done the business when asked. Case in point, Isco or Alvaro Morata.
Gareth Bale has been injured for much of the campaign and as a result has been the worst performing of the three. Cristiano Ronaldo has come up trumps in many of the big games, but Karim Benzema, for a centre-forward of note, hasn’t scored anywhere near the number of goals required to justify his place.
The squad is there for a reason, Zidane should use it.
#2 Dressing room unrest
At the very top level of the game, many of the players that will pass through Real Madrid will be of the world class variety. As such, each and every one will have an ego to match. It’s something that every top-level athlete needs to keep them in that elite bracket.
However, not everyone can be kept happy and Zidane has had a couple of thorns in his side this season.
James Rodriguez is the most obvious. The best player of World Cup 2014, who Los Blancos were delighted to secure with a €80m fee, has been unhappy since the beginning of the campaign.
Zidane’s promise that ‘every player is important’ has sounded a little hollow at times because for Rodriguez at least, his appearances in the biggest games have been cursory at best.
Isco is another that has intimated he could be on his way out, as is the case with Alvaro Morata.
The three have been open in coming forward with their disdain of Zizou’s policy. Can the manager really afford to let these three incredible talents leave?
#3 Mistakes in El Clásico
On the biggest day in the La Liga calendar and with the advantage before the game heavily stacked in Real’s favour, it was a surprise that so many mistakes were made by Zidane which handed the game, and potentially the title, to their arch rivals.
His first error came before the game when he named Gareth Bale in the starting lineup. After hobbling off in the first half, it was clear that the Welshman wasn’t fit, nor did he do anything of note in the time that he was on the pitch.
Then, when almost everyone expected the in-form Isco to come on in his place, a midfielder who would’ve caused Barcelona untold problems, Zidane plumped for Marco Asensio. No one is doubting the youngster has what it takes at the top level, but this wasn’t the time to introduce him.
His final mistake was his most catastrophic.
Deep into injury time, with the scores level at 2-2, all Real needed to do was keep the ball. Instead, the team pushed forward looking for a winner that they didn’t need. A rapid counter-attack proved their undoing as Lionel Messi scored one of the most important goals of his career with the last kick, to win the match.
If it ends up that this was the day that the Catalans won the title, the Frenchman won’t be forgiven.
#4 Pressure from the Bernabeu
For a team that is so revered in world football, you’d think that their home support would be more than happy with the fare that is provided for them on the pitch each week.
The entertainment they get for their hard-earned euro is often second to none, yet it seems that the Santiago Bernabeu faithful are rarely a happy bunch.
Cristiano Ronaldo has recently come out and pleaded with them to stop booing him. A player who is their all-time record scorer and arguably the best to ever don the white shirt is still not doing enough to please the fans it would seem. That’s scandalous.
Earlier in the campaign, when Los Blancos were trailing in a Champions League tie, Sergio Ramos, Ronaldo, Zidane and Florentino Perez had to appeal to the local media for the fans to get behind their team.
After El Clásico, Zidane will already be feeling the pressure from the stands, and once the white hankies come out, he’s toast.
#5 Not winning trophies
At this point in time, Real Madrid are still in the hunt for an unprecedented second successive Champions League, something that hasn’t been achieved in the modern era.
Despite being toppled from the La Liga summit, they still retain a slight advantage over Barcelona owing to the game in hand. However, the pressure is now right back on Zidane’s side in both competitions.
Atlético Madrid will give absolutely everything to beat their local rivals after losing two finals to them, and who’d bet against the Rojiblancos over two legs?
A win or draw in the league would’ve virtually guaranteed Real the title and as it is now, they have to win their game in hand and better Barca’s results in all of the other games. It was a stated aim of the club to win La Liga this season and if Zizou ends up with neither, it could spell a premature end.
