Rafael Benitez’s sacking was inevitable. Seven months after becoming Florentino Perez's 10th managerial appointment at one of the biggest football clubs in the world, Benitez was asked to make way for the French legend, Zinedine Zidane, at the Santiago Bernabeu. The club has been struggling to win a major title since the team won the Champions League in 2014 under Carlo Ancelotti and when the Italian, who has a big fan following at Madrid, was sacked, there was a huge backlash from fans and players.
Since Benitez’s appointment, there has been a huge pressure on him to make the club remain at the top of the Spanish League but with the Barcelona trio (Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar) at the helm, and Atletico Madrid playing brilliantly under Diego Simeone, the club was ‘struggling’ at number three in the La Liga table. Replacing him with Zidane might not be tactically the best foot forward but he is a Los Blancos legend and making him the manager was popular choice. This will please the Madrid fans and if the former World Cup-winning player can inspire his team to win a title or two then we can expect to him to serve a long term at the club.
Reasons that prompted Benitez’s exit
The biggest reason for his exit was that nobody, other than Gareth Bale, had the belief that he is the right man to lead the club and before his signing there were stories in Spanish media that how he is going to be a disaster for the club. His record, when compared to previous managers at the club was not very impressive and his brand of football is defensive which is not what Real are known for. His record was not bad and the club won 17 out of 25 matches under him but after the 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona at the El Clasico in November it was quite certain that he was not going to continue at the club after the end of this season. As the Catalans humbled their arch-rivals, Benitez was booed and abused by the fans at Bernabeu throughout the match and they gave a standing ovation when their opposition’s star performer Andres Iniesta left the field. After that humiliating loss they failed to maintain their place in the top two of La Liga and were also expelled from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player against Cadiz.
There is no denying that Ronaldo is the biggest star at Real Madrid and Benitez’s relations with him were not very good. Benitez, who has a history of falling out with big players, went on to say that the Portuguese is not the best player in the club and on many occasions he tried to give Bale the central role in the team formations. He also had few heated arguments with Isco and James Rodriguez.
Tough road ahead for Zidane
The first big challenge for Zidane will be to bring positivity in the team and make them realise that they are the biggest football club with some of the biggest stars in their team. He has spent enough time at the club as assistant coach, players respect him, and considering his record at the club, he is the best man to inspire the players. He used to play a 4-2-3-1 formation with Real's B team, but with the club now struggling to win in big matches and lack of quality defenders may force him to go with an offensive approach.
During his recent press conference, Zidane said that he would play Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo as long as they're fit. If that is going to happen and then he will have to make some serious changes in the midfield. Their defence is already a weak link compared to other big clubs, and players like Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the midfield like to always play attacking roles. So, Zidane needs few players in the centre who other than creating chances, can hold the defence and make their movement in the field look more stable.
One other important thing Zidane will have to sort out right away is to how to handle the egos of players like Ronaldo and Bale. While Ronaldo likes to always hear praises from his managers and be the centre of attraction both on and off the field, there have been rumours that Bale, who was very close to to Benitez, might leave the club. These two are currently the best players at the club and how the team performs in next few months will very much depend upon how these two play in the field.
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