Is Zidane really that bad a tactician that one wants to say it?

The real ones know. Asked before Liverpool about the whining of Kylian Mbappé at PSG, Zinédine Zidane soberly reminded the player that it was neither more nor less than the ransom of glory. “The stronger you are, the more you will be criticized (…), recalled the French coach. Here [au Real], we know it “. It is true that critical question, “Chichou” arises there.

The guy may have a record to make sew mouths to the greatest haters of Castilla La Mancha, Zidane still drags a reputation of shoddy tactician just good at managing egos and sleeping his composition according to the high-sounding names he has at its disposal. In Spain, it even has a name. For the Madrid anti-Zizou who are rampant on Twitter, the French world champion is nicknamed “El Alineador”, “the aligner”.

The origins of the little nickname

It does not date from yesterday since, after careful investigation, it appears that the first occurrence of this nickname saw the light of day in 2016, the year when Zidane took charge of the destinies of Casa Blanca for the first time. “A lot of Madrid fans tend to underestimate their team’s success. Basically, I think that has always been the case with most of Madrid’s coaches over the past 20 years, trying to understand Pablo Parra, Spanish journalist for Marcador, the radio station of the famous Marca newspaper. I completely agree that you have to be demanding and critical with this team, but if and only if it is necessary. “

For these, Zidane would therefore be limited to aligning his safe soldiers in an irremovable tactical scheme (the 4-3-3 low point) with robotic mechanisms. On Saturday, however, the Marseillais beat Eibar (2-0) by emerging from the hat a 3-5-2 that we had already seen in the past, especially in the round of 16 first leg of C1 against Atalanta. And on arrival, for the newspaper Ace, “Real have shown one of their best versions of the season”. Above all, Zizou managed to give life on Saturday to a Marcelo that we thought was definitely lost for football, which is not given to everyone. “With this system he found the best way to use Marcelo who, let’s say it, never knew how to defend”, applauds François Miguel Boudet, of the site
Furia Liga, specializing in the Spanish championship.

“Marcelo and Isco are not players who can spend 90 minutes going back and forth between attack and defense,” says Parra. So he adapted to that by spinning and putting three central defenders in order to position Marcelo higher and give Isco more freedom. On arrival it worked very well. This season, Zidane has changed his playing pattern at least five times, his team are very, very solid tactically and most importantly, he was able to make good decisions during the match. “

Zidane and last year’s “cold machine”

While it is true that the 4-3-3 is his safe haven, the one he uses 80% of the time and in front of which he likes to warm his hands when it’s cold outside, the Frenchman has been able since his return to the bench in March 2019 to target the shortcomings of his team and to develop different tactical responses when the circumstances required it. This season, we have counted no less than five different systems, ranging from 4-4-2 flat to 4-2-3-1 through 4-3-2-1 and therefore 3-5-2. To defend the Zidane soldier, Pablo Parra recalls that the maestro was able to glean a new Liga last year by playing this team against nature. For the needs of the cause, even if it means sometimes sacrificing the beauty of the gesture. Like a tactician, in short.

“He made this team a very boring defensive rock to play. We saw an incredibly solid Real, with tight lines, which left very little space for his opponents and who gave the impression of being sure to always be able to score one more goal than his opponent. He turned Real into a cold machine that never dies, that never lets go. This may not be what we always expect from Real, but Zizou has shown that he always knows how to draw the essence of the strengths he has at his disposal. “

If they do not fully share the analysis of the journalist from Madrid (“Zidane has tactical limits, we all know that. He pays dearly for it in times of crisis when it is necessary to be attached to a game project”), creators of the famous Twitter account Real Madrid FR recognize him at least as a pretty force of persuasion: “Where the great tacticians adapt their team to their game plan, Zidane, he adapts to his players and to the means he has. . It was all the more significant last season when he had convinced his players that in the absence of punch, they had to suffer, learn to play with more seriousness than pleasure, with more balance behind than imbalance in front. “

“We label it as a simple manager relying mainly on the form and confidence of his players. Nevertheless, I think there are some very interesting things to say about him, engages the group of French supporters of Real. The switch between Modrić and Casemiro which allows the latter to project himself into the area and receive the crosses. What works: Casemiro, with 5 headed goals, is our second-highest scorer in La Liga. “

The man who didn’t have to talk football to do it

Basically, what especially bothers the antis is the lack of passion of the French technician, it is true very stingy when it comes to (really) talking about football in front of the cameras. “It’s hard to blame those who convey this image as Zidane is the first to do so, note the members of Real Madrid FR. Each underperformance is accompanied by its share of statements about the lack of intensity, concentration, work, but never anything concerning tactics. A criticism that El Lobo Carrasco, the former Barcelona footballer who became a consultant for El Chiringuito TV, sweeps away: “Zidane does not need to talk about football, he is football”.

In other words, by the Spanish author Albert Blaya Sensat, “Zidane is a fascinating character. [qui] does not look like a coach. His speeches are monotonous and simple, far from what Klopp and Guardiola emit. He wins and no one seems to know why except him. “In the meantime, the misunderstood plays Tuesday night a place in the last four of the C1 and is more than ever in the race to win the title in La Liga. Not bad for a branquignole who aligns more than he coaches.