The 2016
Champions League final had been built up as a story of redemption, as Atletico
Madrid attempted to reverse the outcome of a painful 2014 Champions League final
defeat to rival Real Madrid. Though Atleticofell short and mighty Real
eventually won in a penalty shootout, the result still served as a tale of
redemption for Real Madrid manager
ZinedineZidane.
While
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated with his shirt off and paraded about like his
winning spot kick had been the sole reason Real Madrid won the final, Zidane
coolly collected his first trophy as a manager in his first season on the
sidelines.
Zidane did
not even manage Madrid for a full season. He took the reins in early January of
2016, after Rafa Benitez had promptly received his walking papers to make way
for the Frenchman following a 2-2 draw at Valencia. Zidane had been coaching
the club's youth team, so the former Real Madrid midfielder’s promotion
paralleled Pep Guardiola’s rise at rival FC Barcelona a few years earlier.
Though the fans warmly welcomed their new manager, the press harshly pointed to
his lack of managerial experience.
In his first
eight matches in charge, Zidane managed six wins and two draws, but he had not
been wholly tested against any of Europe or Spain’s elite clubs.
In his ninth
match, Zidane suffered a home defeat against Atletico Madrid that made him
question his own future at the club in the aftermath. In that moment, one could
not avoid seeing and hearing that losing meant more to Zidane, or maybe it was
that losing clearly hurt Zidane.
Real Madrid
would rebound and win the next five games before meeting Barcelona at Camp Nou
in El Clasico. Benitez, one can easily argue, lost his job back when Barcelona
went to the Santiago Bernabeu and thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 in late November.
For Zidane, beating Barcelona 2-1 at the Camp Nou cemented his place with the
team and counted as the first medal on his barren managerial jacket.
Of course, a
2-0 defeat to Wolfsburg in the Champions League only four days after the famous
victory in Barcelona put pressure on the 1998 World Cup winner. Thanks largely
to Ronaldo, Real Madrid would avenge that loss with a 3-0 home victory over the
Germans to secure a spot in the semifinals of Europe’s elite club competition.
After 20 La
Liga matches in charge, Zidane has the best record of any Real Madrid manager
with 17 wins, two draws and only one defeat. Real Madrid finished La Liga with
12 straight victories. From when he took over in January until Real Madrid
arrived at the San Siro for the Champions League final on Saturday, Zidane had
only suffered two losses in 26 matches across all competitions: at Wolfsburg
and against Atletico Madrid. He had overcome Wolfsburg, but beating Atletico
Madrid in the final of the Champions League would avenge the 43-year-old
manager’s worst defeat.
As a player,
Zidane never suffered a defeat to Atletico Madrid in eight matches. As a
manager, the Champions League final offered a rare opportunity to tie up one
final loose end and categorize his first season as a complete success.
On Saturday,
Zidane found redemption, and he did it his way.
The
Frenchman picked 24-year-old Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who made the
strongest case as Real Madrid’s man of the match in the final. He gave Gareth
Bale the freedom and confidence to get central and take over the attacking
responsibility from Ronaldo. Bale’s header led to Sergio Ramos’ opening goal,
as the Welshman offered more of an attacking impetus than the Portuguese
forward.
Zidane came
under criticism for wasting his substitutions and not taking off Ronaldo, who
had been altogether anonymous over the 120 minutes of play. But when the time
came to score the winning penalty kick in the shootout, Ronaldo stepped up and
converted. Though he may have been overly dramatic by taking off his shirt,
Ronaldo did provide the match-winning kick. And Zidane left him in.
In beating
Atletico Madrid, one of the greatest football players of all time laid the
foundation to potentially become one of the greatest managers of all time.
Zidane is only the seventh person to win the highly coveted trophy as both a
player and a manager. Winning the Champions League in less than half a season
on the job is no ordinary feat.
After his
promotion in January, critics shouted that Zidane was not qualified and
continued to point out every tactical error from that point forward. But
football is a game of results. Winning the Champions League is a result that
will never leave Zidane’s managerial résumé.
One cannot
help but feel that winning the Champions League felt more like redemption than
revenge for Zidane. The Frenchman faced constant criticism from the moment he
was appointed to Saturday's final, where his players were cramping up and
Ronaldo stepped up and buried the final spot kick in the penalty shootout.
In the end,
Zidane proved that he was the right man for Real Madrid all along, and now,
he has the silverware to silence his critics.
No comments:
Post a Comment