Can Zinedine Zidane succeed as Real Madrid manager?

When Zinedine Zidane returned to the club at which he ended his playing career, it was almost inevitable that he was the heir apparent to the club’s seemingly constant managerial vacancy.

With then-manager José Mourinho in charge of first-team affairs, Zizou concentrated on the academy. Under Carlo Ancelotti, the Frenchman coached his way into the first-team, assisting as Madrid won their historic tenth Champions League title. For the last 18 months, Zidane was in charge of the club’s B team – known as Real Madrid Castilla – and guided them to just a slightly above-average campaign in the Spanish third division. While these three years of experience could hardly be referred to as a period of incredible personal success for him, he was officially named the first-team manager of Real Madrid on January 4, a day that saw the club cut ties with Rafa Benítez in favour of the legendary French international.

Zidane has been given a near-impossible responsibility; with his first senior managerial job, he has to make Real Madrid play beautifully again while also meeting the sky-high expectations put forth by the front office, the players, and the fans. Certainly he has a vast knowledge of the game and a passion for the club, but can we really expect Zidane to find managerial success at Madrid?

Part of me thinks he is doomed to fail. It is one thing to have experience coaching and winning at the lower levels, but managing a team full of stars is a completely different task altogether. Real Madrid is a collection of players with some of the biggest egos in world football – not an insult, but a fact – and getting on their bad side will inevitably lead to failure (see: Rafa Benítez). Unfortunately for Zidane, the quickest way to get on a player’s bad side is to force them to do something to which they are not accustomed. He wants his teams to play beautiful football, but the Madrid team up to this point have not had such an identity; sure, they play to win, but their performances are usually dependent on moments of individual brilliance rather than a particular style of play. Trying to implement a particular philosophy has not gone well for the club’s past few managers, and the Frenchman will decide whether or not the risk is worth the potential rewards.

Additionally, and probably most importantly, is the sad reality that a Real Madrid manager has no real power. Regardless of name recognition or prior success, the fact of the matter is that this is Florentino Pérez’s club. As presidents go, Pérez is one of the most stubborn and dictatorial ones out there, and no manager has ever been able to change that. Just look at Carlo Ancelotti – he guided Madrid to La Décima, but failed to win the league title or keep Gareth Bale happy and was promptly shown the exit door. Benítez did a great job keeping players like Bale content, but allowed unrest to occur among some of the fringe players (Isco, James, etc.) and was heavily scrutinized for it by the media, which led to his sacking. It seems that the management job at Real Madrid is a recipe for disaster, no matter the level of on-field success. With the enormous pressure put on him right from the start, how can we really expect Zidane to succeed as Madrid manager?

Well, if there is anyone equipped to handle being pulled in every direction by the owner, the fans, and the media, it is him. The French legend has shown more than enough willingness to be his own man, with the prime example of that relating to young superstar Martin Odegaard. Madrid fought off a slew of Europe’s elite clubs to sign the now-17-year-old Norwegian, yet Zidane left him out of the Castilla lineup entirely on a number of occasions. According to his contract, Odegaard was allowed to train with the first team for a certain number of days per week, but Zidane refused to give him playing time for the B team while he was training with a different set of teammates. Given the hype surrounding the youngster and his ridiculous wage figure, this whole saga showed the world that Zidane was not afraid to take a Ferguson-esque “my way or the highway” approach to management.

Furthermore, his knowledge of the game and leadership abilities are already abundantly clear from his time as a player. During the most important tournaments, playing for the most important teams, Zidane was essentially a coach on the field that proved he could lead his men to the highest of heights. He’s been the World Player of the Year, the best player of the UEFA Champions League, and the best player of the World Cup, and all of those awards were completely deserved. If the Madrid players don’t respect him and follow his instructions, then maybe the manager is not the root of the club’s problem.

Furthermore, he knows what he is getting himself into. Zidane understands (and even embraces) the pressure. Most importantly for him though, I think it is unlikely for him to be heavily scrutinized for anything that happens this season; Madrid is already out of the Copa Del Rey, behind two magnificent teams in the La Liga standings, and not really a favorite to win the Champions League. He should get half a season to experiment with the team and its tactics, which hopefully set him up for more long-term success.

There are plenty of reasons to be nervous about Zidane’s appointment as manager. A managerial search for a club of Madrid’s calibre should be conducted reasonably and methodically, yet here we see a beloved player with minimal experience get the nod, and with a points deficit already staring him in the face. Sure, he could be an absolute revelation, but the fact that the players can be friendlier with him than with Benítez will not mean much if he can’t turn things around. The fans, media, and President will be quick to turn on him, regardless of his star power.

I wish Zinedine Zidane the best of luck, as I’m sure many of us do. He definitely has the footballing knowledge and leadership abilities to go far, and will undoubtedly be a successful manager for some club, even if he doesn’t remain at Madrid. I sincerely hope that he validates his legacy as a winner by leading Los Galácticos to as many trophies as possible, and proves all the doubters wrong. Unfortunately, under a boss like Florentino Pérez, all of that might not even be enough.