Madrid (AFP)
Where did the magic of Zinédine Zidane go? King of the Champions League since his treble (2016-2018), the coach of Real Madrid was deposed on Friday in the round of 16 by Manchester City of Pep Guardiola, and lost his status as invincible master in this competition.
After the unprecedented treble offered to the Merengue club in the Champions League (2016, 2017, 2018), after having straightened a team adrift since his return to the bench in March 2019 ... has the genius of Zidane tactician been evaporated with this premature elimination, even before having seen Lisbon and its "Final 8"?
"Touched, but not sunk," dismissed the daily Marca, Spain's best-selling newspaper, in its Saturday edition the day after the rout in Madrid and the end of Zidane's reign in the queen of European competitions.
- More invincible -
It's much more than a match that "Zizou" lost. He lost the battle of the tacticians against his friend but brilliant rival Pep Guardiola. But above all, he ended a record series: since his debut on the Merengue bench in 2016, Zidane had never lost a knockout confrontation in the Champions League (12/12).
And more generally, this elimination against City is the first setback for "ZZ" in international club competitions: until then he had gone through three group stages, nine double confrontations, and three C1 finals, as well as two World Championships without flinching. of clubs and two European Super Cups.
In Spain, the management capacity and the force of termination of the French technician are not in doubt.
On the other hand, the reasons for this failure are of concern. The late tactical decisions (three changes when there was only eight minutes left to play, with the entry into play of Jovic, Lucas Vazquez and Valverde), and especially the non-entry into play of the young Brazilian winger Vinicius (20 years old). ), with its verticality and speed, question.
"Varane's mistakes are not attributable to Zidane, but the fact of not knowing how to move his bench when his team needed it, that yes", tackled the daily Marca.
"Two gifts, and at home", has also titled Marca in One the day after the match. "Wiped out" backed sports daily As, with a full-page photo of Varane holding his head in his hands behind Manchester City's opening goal. "Real, KO", for their part agreed the Catalan newspapers Mundo Deportivo and Sport.
- "Nothing to think about" -
How much will this rout affect Zidane? Is he able to redo the surprise announcement of his departure, as after the unprecedented treble in 2018?
While he had raised concerns at a press conference in July, where he was evasive about his future on the bench at Real, he did not want to confirm anything on the subject Friday night after the match in Manchester, but left some clues.
"I'm here, I'm the coach of Real Madrid until something happens. There is nothing to think about. I am the coach of Real Madrid, there are no more questions to arise in this direction, "swept" Zizou "in a post-match press conference.
In 2018, Zidane left his post at the top of his game. There, he goes on vacation somewhat stunned. After having signed a canon end of season with 10 successes in a row to snatch the 34th Liga in the history of the club, from the hands of FC Barcelona, Zizou and Real seemed borrowed to approach their fetish competition.
It is therefore with one more challenge in sight that we should find "Zizou" and Real in September for the resumption of the 2020-2021 season. Touched, but not sunk.
© 2020 AFP