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Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid mission
- Zinedine Zidane returns as the head coach of Real Madrid less than a year after he quit to save a club in crisis
- He won three Champions League trophies as well as the Spanish league in his previous stint as Madrid’s manager
Real Madrid favourite Zinedine Zidane returned for a second spell as coach on Monday with plans to rebuild the Spanish giants who have fallen into crisis since he left in May after winning an unprecedented third straight Champions League.
Zidane also won a Liga title in 2017 among nine trophies before standing down having taken the club to the European summit. They have endured a miserable season in his absence, first sacking Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari as head coach.
Real president Florentino Perez has turned again to Zidane, who stepped in for Rafa Benitez in 2016 and quickly guided the team to Champions League glory, but this time he will be without the club’s all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portugal forward’s departure in July to Juventus has had a big impact on Real this season while their other key players, like Marcelo, Isco and Gareth Bale, have struggled. Zidane has a big job on his hands as he prepares to shake things up.
“Things will change, in every way, we have to change things for the years to come,” he told a news conference on Monday at the Bernabeu. “Now the important thing is that I am back, and there is time to talk and see what needs to be done.”
The Frenchman must oversee a regeneration by using the young players Solari brought through, including 18-year-old forward Vinicius Junior, left back Sergio Reguilon and midfielder Marcos Llorente, as well as welcoming major new signings.
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is likely to be a prime target, with the Belgium forward having previously spoken of his admiration for Zidane, who won the World Cup as a player with France.
Diario Sport reported that Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, once of Barcelona, is Madrid’s big transfer target as they bid to fill the hole left by Ronaldo and are willing to spend up to 350 million euros ($393.65 million) on the Brazil forward.
Speaking to reporters after Zidane’s presentation, Perez also joked about Neymar’s PSG strike partner Kylian Mbappe.
“Zidane’s French, so maybe he can do something about (signing) Mbappe,” said the Real Madrid chief.
Madrid have also struggled in midfield this season, with German international Toni Kroos and Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric, a World Cup runner-up with Croatia, not at their best.
Zidane must now evaluate his squad before deciding if Madrid need to reinforce the midfield, and which of the players frozen out by Solari can be brought back into the fold.
Spanish international midfielder Isco was a key player for Zidane, especially in 2017 playing in the hole behind Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as Madrid charged to a La Liga and Champions League double, but fell out of favour the next season.
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First Published:15 Mar 2019, 12:34 PM IST
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