The 34th title of champion of Spain won by Real Madrid on Thursday July 16, at the end of the 37th day of La Liga, has a certain blue-white-red flavor. Whether it's his coach, Zinedine Zidane, determining on his bench, or his goalscorer Karim Benzema, more decisive before goal than ever, the Merengue supporters know that they owe a lot to the two Frenchmen, throughout a disrupted season by the coronavirus.
Unsurprisingly, the Spanish press bowed on Friday to salute the two main architects for the title of champion, won at the expense of FC Barcelona, the historic rival of Madrid.
Several of them chose a photo of the coach worn in triumph by his players, to illustrate their headlines. "Zidane won, as always," writes the daily Marca in a rave editorial. "The merits of the French were numerous (...). He won this Liga without Cristiano (Ronaldo), the biggest winner, without having a great Hazard, without Jovic the promising newly recruited striker. He won with only one defensive midfielder. He won with the old rockers, who many buried too early. (...) Zidane won, which he came back for. "
☀️ ¡Buenos días!
🏆 No es un viernes cualquiera para los madridistas
🗞️ Esta es la #PortadaAS de hoy # FelizViernes pic.twitter.com/6hZAyItU3i
For its part, the sports daily AS highlighted the impact of Karim Benzema, by titling on its website "La Liga de Benzema" ("The Benzema Championship"). "With his exceptional performances, Karim has turned into an attacking leader in a title won by Real, after so many years in a secondary role behind [Cristiano] Ronaldo", is it written about the French international for a long time remained in the shadow of the Portuguese, who left two years ago at Juventus Turin.
These praises are amply deserved as Real Madrid returns from afar. The White House was resurrected by Zinedine Zidane, recalled in the middle of the sabbatical year, in March 2019, at the bedside of a club in distress. While idolized in the Spanish capital, as a former player and coach, he had started nine months earlier on a third title of consecutive European champion believing that he no longer felt able to continue the adventure with a aging workforce and ultimately.
"Every time he comes, what he touches turns to gold"
After a few months of adjustments, the skeptics who hoped to see the French technician, deprived of the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo, fail and return to the ranks have stopped laughing. Zinedine Zidane has even become untouchable, especially since the resumption of the season, which has seen the Madrid streak in ten wins in a row, while before the confinement, their Catalan rival was two points ahead of them.
Strong collectively and defensively, incisive offensively, the Madrilenians have perfectly negotiated their return to competition. A commando operation carried out with a master's hand by "Zizou", who will once again have demonstrated his qualities as a leader of men by mobilizing all of his staff while the locker room was on the verge of implosion a year ago .
👔 Zinedine #Zidane 🇫🇷
1️⃣1️⃣ títulos
⚽ 209 partidos en el @realmadrid
🏆 Un título cada 19 partidos 👏 # RealFootball | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/mliAIUj9OJ
"I think Zidane is a blessing from heaven. I hope he will be with us for a long time," said after the coronation Florentino Perez, president of Real.
"Zidane is the key. We believe in him and in his work. Every time he comes, what he touches turns to gold," added his captain, Sergio Ramos. He is unique. "
Unique like his Madrid record which now has 11 titles as a coach (3 Champions Leagues, 2 Ligas, 2 Spanish Super Cups, 2 European Super Cups and 2 Club World Cups).
Benzema, Golden Ball ?
Question palmares, that of Karim Benzema at Real Madrid does not have much to envy him (17 titles, including 4 Champions Leagues and 3 Liga). The former OL striker, still undesirable in the Blues version Didier Dechamps, flew over the season to the point of competing with Lionel Messi in the scorecard race (23 units for the Argentinian against 21 for the French).
Precise, complete, collective and technical, he was true to himself at the forefront of the attack and shone throughout the season in the absence of Eden Hazard, the flagship rookie of last summer , who missed half of the games due to injury. With eleven years of experience at the club, Karim Benzema also held his role as an executive and leader alongside the taulier Sergio Ramos by haranguing his teammates in the event of a drop in speed.
"He should be Ballon d'or. I haven't seen any other player better than him this season," said the Madrid president, who was very complimentary after the club's 34th coronation.
For many observers, Karim Benzema, now at the top of his game at 32, signed the best season of his career in the most successful club in the world (13 Champions Leagues).
Precisely, the fifth best goalscorer in the history of Real Madrid, qualified by his coach as "genius", only remains to shine in C1 to end an already busy season. Whether it was for him or Zinedine Zidane, the 8th finals return against Manchester City, disputed on August 7, is a new opportunity to strike a big blow on a continental scale and to forget a European campaign without relief. Defeated at home in the first leg (1-2), Real must surpass themselves to eliminate the men of Pep Guardiola. A possible success will allow the two French to enter a little more in the history of Merengue, where they already have their place.
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