But how did Zidane still find a way to win this season?

• Real Madrid are sure to win La Liga after their victory over Villarreal on Thursday evening, on the 37th day of the Spanish championship. 
• Zidane thus further strengthens its legend, with 11 trophies won at the head of this team. 
• Real this season had fewer arguments to put forward than in the past, but the Frenchman was able to adapt to the circumstances. 

We will have to learn not to be surprised by Zinedine Zidane anymore. Even if, really, the guy does not help us at all. After all these years, those where he was a genius player and then those where he amassed in forty months and 209 games more titles than 99% of the coaches of the world in their career, he still happens to have us.

The French coach won La Liga on Thursday evening, thanks to Real Madrid's victory against Villarreal. His eleventh title on the merengue bench, his second crown of champion of Spain, after that of 2017, which had represented "the best day of [his] professional life". This title should also have a very special place in his personal Pantheon. Because it bears its imprint, very deeply.

🇪🇸 #RMAVIL
🏆 Sergio Ramos: "The work is the fruit of this success"
🌟 "Zidane is the boss of the boat, he is a unique coach" pic.twitter.com/mRR51ZqrlL

"The most beautiful definition of intelligence"

Zidane has always said that La Liga was the trophy that counted the most because it rewarded regularity, which is more against the Barcelona rival, eight times winner between 2009 and 2019. And frankly, at the start of this season, few people were betting on the White House. The end of the previous season, with the Frenchman back on the bench in March to save the furniture, had been slow. Hazard has arrived, not Pogba, the frames have aged, the Bale and James cannonballs have remained, and if it were not Gijon or Valladolid either, the whole seemed a bit weak to compete with Barça, reinforced by the finish by Griezmann.

But Zizou, who had to do without Hazard for much of the season, fought with his weapons. “Zidane is an extremely adaptable person. For me, this is the best definition of intelligence, poses Jean-Pierre Karaquillo, his training manager at the Center for Law and Economics of Sport (CDES) in Limoges. He has this adaptability because he is both humble and has a look on others. This is very important. It does not work in relation to itself, but in relation to how it can advance others. He is also very lucid. He always takes into account the important elements that will make him succeed. "

Ramos, Benzema… and Casemiro

In practice, it has given this season a more defensive Real, cold as steel, with 23 small goals conceded in 37 games and victories by a goal difference with a spade - preferably thanks to a penalty from Sergio Ramos. The Madrid captain, insurmountable, superbly unbearable and lethal in cold blood (10 goals, first defender to reach this total in 15 years), had an XXL season. The other locomotive was Karim Benzema, 21 goals (including a double for the title) and 8 assists. The Frenchman had already left the seasons at these heights, but at a time when the team, carried by CR7, scored much more. Involved in more than 40% of the 68 Madrid goals, it had a huge impact.

"Karim Benzema has dignified football" via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/K8sT3Y5Kxj

Between these two basic men, the former deputy of Ancelotti relied on a third player, of capital importance: Casemiro. The Brazilian, at the heart of a midfielder with four or even sometimes five, was, even more than Modric or Kroos, the hub of the collective wanted by the coach. "The positioning of Casemiro was a tactical masterclass of Zizou," said the very rigorous Massimiliano Allegri last week in Marca . What impressed the former Juventus coach? “The strength he had to find the necessary balance in a team so full of class and talent. What prove that he is a real tactician, perhaps unclassifiable in style but always tailor-made.

The other feat of the Marseillais this season is the way he managed the recovery after the forced break due to the coronavirus. 11 games were left when Madrid's strikers attacked Eibar on June 14. "I want to be tackled like eleven finals," said Zidane. Result, Real won the first ten. Not surprisingly, for a coach who can boast of never having let a trophy pass in nine directed finals (three Champions League, two Club World Cups, two European super cups and a Spanish super cup). But still fascinating. "It attracts the trust of others," notes Karaquillo. Players quickly understand who they are dealing with in terms of their state of mind. And the state of mind is a question of posture. He has the posture, the attitudes and the right words. "

Question of charisma?

Marcelo's words come back to us when Zidane took everyone by surprise when he announced his departure, in May 2018. “We talked every day. He was interested in me and defended me, said the Brazilian. He was for me a very great, a professional, not only for the titles. He defended me a lot and I gave everything for him, I ran, I fought, I played injured. I practically gave my life for Zidane. "

In addition to having perfectly managed the physical recovery of his troops, with the help of the former Blues preparer Grégory Dupont, the double Z knew how to condition them for the end of the season in cannonball. "It's called charisma," said his former trainer. He is a leader. We distinguish between the different types of leaders, that of the field, that of the locker room, etc. No, there is the leader, period. The leader is one who has charisma and who we want to follow. "

"When you talk with Zidane, the level is very high" via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/LKNwiy78E1

So this is Real once again champion of Spain, and Zidane watching from above up there those who criticized him. Because the comments were not lacking, on this Real wins small, illegible, lucky, helped by video arbitration. So as not to hide anything from you, we thought so too, sometimes. But the winner is always right. "There may be comments outside, but I enjoy what I do every day here," swept the concerned Wednesday.

In this regard, we can only encourage you to read the editorial of our Spanish colleague Ruben Jimenez in Marca, Tuesday. He explains there with great humor how the readers love to grumble against the choices of the French ... and how they never learn from their mistakes. “To criticize Zidane is to buy a ticket for the Ferris wheel of ridicule. But even after all this time, they still queue to buy another ticket, ”he wrote. We couldn't have said it better.

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