The Weekly Take, Issue 136: They Surely Can't Fire Him Now

The standout fixture of the latest La Liga matchday was the latest edition of the Madrid derby. Real Madrid emerged with an impressive 2-0 victory over city rivals Atlético Madrid. Casemiro opened the scoring in the 15th minute. In the second half, an own goal scored by Jan Oblak off Dani Carvajal's shot that struck the post ensured Real's victory.

Real's win put Los Merengues within three points of Atlético, who currently lead the league. It also eased the pressure on head coach Zinedine Zidane. Rumours that Zidane might soon be fired have been circulating for some time now. They only intensified after a recent slump in form.

However, the events of the derby showed that not only would it be a colossal mistake on Real's part if they were to fire the Frenchman; the club's top brass ought to pull out all the stops to make sure that Zidane remains in the Santiago Bernabéu dugout for the foreseeable future.

Consider the fact that although Zidane was going up against one of the top five overall coaches and perhaps the best pure strategist in the world in his Atlético counterpart Diego Simeone, it was in large part thanks to Zidane that Real Madrid came away victorious. His tactical setup was on point, his substitutions were timely and effective, and he ably adjusted to everything Simeone threw at him. It's not often that a great coach like Simeone is so decisively countered. Yet, that's exactly what happened against Real.

I'd actually say that "Zizou" is the most underrated coach in world football at the moment. After all, no one else has ever led a team to three consecutive Champions League titles - that fact alone speaks for itself. While his detractors may claim that his Real Madrid team of 2016 to 2018 was carried to those titles by Cristiano Ronaldo, consider this: to win those three straight European crowns, Real beat Simeone's Atlético in 2016, Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus in 2017, and Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in 2018. For those counting, that would be two all-time great coaches and one excellent one.

Last season was Zidane's first full season in his second stint at the helm of Real. Notably, it was also his first full season as Real head coach since Ronaldo's departure for Juve in the 2018 off-season. Despite having a squad which was clearly weaker to that of his first go-around, Zidane led Real to the league title, finishing ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona by five points. This league triumph came despite key players such as Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale missing large portions of the season through injury.

What Zidane had to deal with upon his return to Real cannot be overlooked either. When he replaced Santiago Solari in March 2019, Real were a club in disarray. They were nowhere near either Barça or Atlético in the league. They had also been knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 after an upset loss against Ajax. Fast forward almost two years later and Real, despite currently trailing Atlético in La Liga, are likely to claim back-to-back league titles for the first time since 2008. They also topped a tough Champions League group containing Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Real's front office is notorious for being trigger-happy with regard to coaches. However, if they break with their history and retain Zidane's services for an extended time period, the club will be likely to experience much current and future success. Given Zidane's track record to date, there is no reason why he shouldn't remain at Real for at least a decade, racking up titles along the way while establishing himself as perhaps the greatest coach in Real's history - and maybe, just maybe, of all time.

It is beyond crucial that Real do not act in their usual knee-jerk manner, especially if results start going against them later in the season. Zidane has clearly built up a body of work which clearly proves that he is an outstanding coach. Firing him would be an epic mistake of almost unparalleled proportions.

The decision should be obvious. Only one question remains: will Real finally "get it", or will they revert to type?

The Weekly Take, Issue 115: Greatest Career Ever

I'll begin this post with a question: who has had the greatest football career of all time?

At first, most people would suggest names such as Diego Maradona, Pelé, Lionel Messi, Ronaldo Nazario, and several others. However, the question was not "who is the greatest player of all time", but "who has had the greatest football career". After the events of the most recent matchday, this question may have been settled once and for all.

In a clash during the penultimate round of La Liga matches, Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-1 to clinch the league title. Karim Benzema scored both goals in the victory which not only sealed the title for Los Merengues but also added another chapter to the already incredible football career of head coach Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane was arguably among the top 10 players of all time. He spearheaded France to a World Cup title in 1998 and a European Championship title in 2000. Zidane was also part of the Galácticos-era Real Madrid which won the Champions League in 2002. In the final against Bayer Leverkusen, Zidane scored a spectacular volley to earn Real their third Champions League title in five seasons. He was also named World Player of the Year by FIFA in 1998, 2000, and 2003 and was among the top five players in the world for around a decade after consistently excelling for and being in contention for titles with Juventus, Real, and France.

Incredibly, Zidane might very well be on his way to becoming an even better coach than he was a player. After first having become the coach of Real's reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla, in 2014, Zidane took over the reins at the main club in 2016 after replacing Rafael Benítez. The Frenchman's impact at the Santiago Bernabéu was immediate as he went on to etch his name into football history by leading Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League titles, thus placing that Real team as perhaps the greatest club team of all time. After leaving the club in May 2018 after Real's third straight Champions League triumph, Zidane returned to the helm in March 2019 and has already helped them wrest the La Liga title from Barcelona despite having a vastly inferior squad talent-wise.

Zidane has clearly already had quite the career in football. It might already be the greatest ever when football achievements as a non-player are also taken into consideration. It is true that purely in terms of achievements, Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini are both in the discussion. Both were among the greatest players of all time. However, both their legacies have also been tainted by scandals. Ordinarily, this would not impact their standing in this discussion; however, in this case the scandals do have an impact because they were football-related scandals.

Frank Rijkaard might be another name to be considered. As a player, the legendary Dutch midfielder won three European Cups or Champions League and the European Championship in 1988 with the Netherlands. He was also a Ballon d'Or contender in the late 1980s. Rijkaard would subsequently go on to coach Barcelona to a Champions League title in 2006.

However, with all due respect to Rijkaard, as great a player as he was, he never even approached the level attained by Zidane at his peak. Rijkaard also found almost no coaching success outside his stint at Barça and has thus not coached since the end of his ill-fated stint coaching Saudi Arabia's national team in 2013.

Furthermore, Zidane has only been coaching for around five years. Over the next 10 to 20 years, there is no telling what he could achieve based on what he has already done. A fourth Champions League title would almost certainly assure his position as the person with the greatest football career ever. If he chooses to move into a front-office role at some point down the line and is successful in that role as well, it would only burnish his already standout legacy. Based on his career thus far, there is no reason to believe that he would not.

Not every player who becomes a coach or enters a front-office position is able to handle the transition and pressure as well as Zidane has. Ultimately, that may be the main reason why Zidane has had what I believe to be the greatest football career of all time.