Zinedine Zidane risked tainting his record when he returned to Real Madrid ten months after his resignation, but by guaranteeing the Spanish Premier League title in his first full season after the return, the French coach proved that no one is better for him for this position.
Zidane, one of the best midfielders in history, league winner and UEFA Champions League player with Real, won his second league title as coach after 2017 after a 2-1 victory over Villarreal yesterday.
"He is the decisive factor, he is the captain of this ship. I hope he will continue for the longest time in the club and he has a great position because he is unique," Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said of his coach.
Despite his record in two and a half seasons with Real before his resignation in 2018 and winning the third consecutive title in the Champions League, some continued to describe Zidane as nothing more than a smiling catalyst.
The Spanish media described him as doing nothing more than choosing 11 major players from one of the most talented formations in the world, while some detracted from his success and described him as lucky.
But Zidane proved this season to be a stunning coach in everything, and the reason for the team's success was the impressive improvement in defense that received 46 goals under Yulin Lopetegui and Santiago Solari before Zidane suddenly returned in March 2019.
Real defensive problems continued and he received six goals in the first four games of this season, but his reaction was good and kept his net 10 times in 15 subsequent games.
Real Madrid's defense performance has improved further since the competition returned after stalling due to the Corona virus pandemic, and its net was shaken three times in nine games, and came out with a clean sheet five times in a row for the first time since 2008. Real Madrid now has the strongest defense in Europe.
"Zidane is a blessing from heaven and I hope he will stay with us for a very long time. Some people can criticize him as they want and we will continue to win titles with him," said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
Zidane exceeded a series of obstacles, and faced a major problem when his team suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain last September, then lost to a second-class rival Mallorca last October, and Spanish media speculated that he was leaving. Replaced by Jose Mourinho, who was unemployed at the time.
But Zidane weathered the storm and led Real Madrid to a loss-free career in 15 league games.
Zidane also dealt with a series of serious injuries such as the loss of Spain's Marco Asensio for 11 months due to knee surgery, while the newcomer Eden Hazard season was plagued by a series of ankle injuries.
In proving Zidane's full use of the squad, 21 different players scored goals in the league, while revitalizing the top players who described themselves as having exceeded their best times, including Luka Modric, Marcelo and Isco.
"He is the one who made the difference and the one who put his faith in the players, and this is something that only a few coaches do. We always feel that he is defending us and believes in us," Ramos said.
Zidane came close to breaking a record to become the most crowning coach with Real Madrid, and he became three titles from the number holder, the late coach Miguel Munoz, who crowned the team with 14 titles, knowing that Munoz achieved these titles within 15 years, while Zidan achieved 11 titles to Extremely now in less than four years with the Royal Club.