A while back Real Madrid faced defeat at the hands of Levante in La Liga and were 10 points behind League Leaders Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane faced a lot of the heat from journalists during Post-match press conference who continuously kept asking questions about his future at the club. An angry Zidane slammed the press by saying "What makes me laugh is you asking me why I might be annoyed (at questions over his future)," he said. "I don't deserve to be treated like that by the press. We won the league last season and I'd hope for a bit of respect. "Just show us a little bit of respect for what we've achieved. You (the press) say a lot. Why don't you tell me to my face that you want me out of the club, not just behind my back."
Here's why Zidane is absolutely right to demand more respect-
Zinedine Zidane was one the best midfielders in the world during his playing days. After hanging up his boots in 2006 the French began working behind the scenes at Real Madrid in 2010. He worked as a scout and was also a personal Advisor to president Florentino Perez. He was the one who first came to the then manager Jose Mourinho to talk about a certain 17 year old center back called Raphael Varane. He then went to assist Carlo Ancelloti before taking over as the B team manager.
Real Madrid had a disastrous 6 months under Rafa Benitez in 2015. Benitez was sacked in January of 2016 after a series of poor results.
First Tenure and Instant success-
Zidane was appointed the new manager of the club on a two-and-a-half-year deal. Real Madrid started to regain form immediately under the Frenchman. He won his first El Clasico as a manager when he defeated FC Barcelona at Camp Nou subsequently ending their 39 match unbeaten run. He then went on to win the UEFA Champions League by beating city rivals Atletico Madrid after less than 5 months incharge. In his second season he guided Real Madrid to it's first La Liga plus Champions League double in the UCL era. Real Madrid finished the calendar year 2017 winning 5 trophies in total making it a legendary year in the golden history of Real Madrid.
Zidane used the squad depth and quality on the bench with utmost brilliance. The Real Madrid boss used 23 players over the course of the season in different formations on different occasions, the only player he did not utilize was the 3rd choice Goalkeeper. The following season was a different story altogether, Real Madrid finished the 2017-18 La Liga season 17 points off the top behind rivals FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. In the summer transfer window Real Madrid sold 7 players before the start of the season and did not make any prominent signings, hence they struggled in the league because of injuries to many players and most importantly the suspension of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo for the first 5 games. Zidane's men in that very season defied all the odds to win the Champions League for the 3rd time in row.
At the end of the season Zidane Resigned as the manger saying "I think this team needs to keep winning but I think after three years a change is needed, something different, a different message, different ways of going about things." A couple of months later Real Madrid sold all time top scorer of the club Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus. Julen Lopetegui was sacked after just 2 months incharge and replaced by Castilla manager Santiago Solari.
Return in 2019-
After losing to Barcelona twice in the space of a week and also going out of the UCL round of 16 to the hands of Ajax, Solari was sacked. Zidane returned as first team manager less than a year after his initial resignation. Real Madrid finished the season without a piece of silverware. In the summer of 2019 Real Madrid spent £320M as they signed Chelsea starlet Eden Hazard along with rising stars Ferland Mendy, Luka Jovic and Eder Militao. Zidane played majority of the season without Hazard who was sidelined due to injuries on multiple occasions. After a shaky start the french boss got things back on track as he made Los Blancos the best defensive side in Europe. Real Madrid managed to win La Liga for the 34th time under Zidane.
Analysis of Zinedine Zidane's tenure-
Zidane is the only manager in the world to win 3 consecutive Champions Leagues. He has won in La Liga 2 times in the 3 full seasons he was incharge. He is often accused of not being tactical and only winning games because of individual brilliance and man management skills. But the Frenchman has proven his tactical prowess on many occasions. Real Madrid madrid have spent €425M on transfers during Zidane's tenure but at the same time have generated €406M through player sales. With a net spending of €19M Real Madrid have won a collective of 11 major trophies. Zinedine Zidane was named The Best Fifa Manager in 2017 and finished as a runner up on 2 other occasions. It clearly shows that Zidane has been up there with the best managers in the world for 4 years now.
The France board have hinted on many occasions that the Real Madrid manager will be a prime candidate to replace Didier Deschamps when his contract runs out. Zidane has also stated how it'll be a dream and an honour to take charge of the French national team. With his current Real Madrid contract running till the end of the 2021/22 season, when the french takeover happens remains to be seen.
