A few months ago, Zidane smiled as he recalled the time when Real Madrid President - Florentino Perez gave him the opportunity to succeed Rafael Benitez when he was at the Valdevebas coaching area.
The former France international said: I was in thealtyalty when he called me. We talked to each other and he asked me if I was ready, then we made a decision. I am preparing for the match on artificial turf against Ebro, but my time at Castilla has ended.
That weekend, instead of traveling to Ebro's La Amazora in Real Zaragoza with Real Madrid's B team, Zidane stepped into the Bernabeu tunnel for the first time as head coach.
He has only 18 months of coaching experience before, but in front of 71,000 passionate fans, he started his era at Real Madrid with a 5-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna.
It was a small step forward for him on the path to rapid success at Real Madrid. Coach Zidane took Real Madrid to the UEFA Champions League (formerly European Cup) championship for the 11th time in the history of 4 months later.
Now, helping the team win La Liga for the first time since 2012 for 2 weeks, Coach Zidane has the opportunity to become the first coach to successfully defend the most prestigious tournament championship for clubs in Europe since the case of Arrigo Sacchi at AC Milan in 1990.
No matter what happened in Cardiff ( xu xu) this weekend, the winner of the 1998 Ballon d'Or award has had more successes than many other coaches in their careers. Although he has a point of view and a coaching method that is not as "legendary" as Pep Guardiola or good, with a deep understanding of tactics as Jose Mourinho, he is still the perfect person for Real Madrid.
Importantly, coach Zidane has taken control of Real Madrid's dressing room in a way that many seniors have never done before. From big egos like Cristiano Ronaldo or young players like Lucas Vazquez, he always tries to take advantage of the best qualities of the players.
This French coach once said: As a coach, there are always many things to think about every day. But the most important thing is that the 24 players in hand must feel happy and work hard.
I have to care for them. What are the players thinking? How can we improve those things? Running a team is not easy, but it is part of my job.
Zidane's rotating policy seems a bit risky as Real Madrid compete with Barcelona, but by placing faith in the substitutes, he has kept their motivation and enthusiasm. Isco, James Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata know they will not play in big matches but have contributed 33 goals in La Liga in 2016-2017.
Zidane's use of Ronaldo is even more impressive. CR7's number of minutes of play is the lowest since the 2009-10 season. However, a reasonable break helped him save energy. 14 goals in the last 9 matches are proof of this.
Convincing Ronaldo to reduce his role at Real Madrid was a bold move by coach Zidane. However, Ronaldo himself was not disappointed with this. The Portuguese star said a few days ago: I am very happy with the way he works. Zidane has coached the team tactfully. This is not a simple job when the players want to play a lot.
What Zidane has done is extremely skillful. That is the key to bringing us to the UEFA Champions League final and winning La Liga.
Ronaldo is not the only player who believes so. Luka Modric also told Sky Sports: When you have a coach who trusts you, you will confidently play better. Zizou has the ability to transfer the modesty and talent he has as a player to the way of managing the dressing room.
Criticism of Zidane may have emerged, but he was simply someone who made things more favorable. The two policies above were not his only brave decisions.
This 45-year-old coach may be an old man of Galatico policy but he is also a practical one. He felt the need to leave a workman like Casemiro in the way he ran the club.
Zidane added: After all, you have to do what you feel internally. Otherwise, things will not improve. I did everything wrong and I will do it again.
But the important thing is to convey what you feel in the heart of the team. If it happened, it would be great. Otherwise, I think I have to make changes.
From the artificial turf pitch in Ebro to the second UEFA Champions League final in 12 months, what Zidane has achieved has far exceeded the public's expectations. If he had achieved a miracle this weekend with Real Madrid, there was no reason for doubts to exist.
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