Zidane the man for Real Madrid – for now

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Following their 3-2 home victory over Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga on Saturday evening, Real Madrid ensured they kept their 6-point lead at the top of La Liga.  With 37 points from a possible 45 to their name, Zinedine Zidane’s team are on an impressive unbeaten run in the league, which has seen them yet to be defeated this season.

The win over Deportivo saw Real Madrid create a new club record of 35 competitive matches without defeat, a run which stretches back to April. During that run and even recently, there have been some performances which may not have been of the level expected by Real Madrid but the team got the job done. Fans may not be 100% happy when the team is not playing free flowing, attacking football and scoring 5 goals but it’s the tight matches, when the team is not playing well, which make the difference. If you can come through those matches, they are the ones which will decide if you will pick up a trophy at the end of the season and that’s what it is all about, winning trophies.

Real Madrid required another last-minute goal from Sergio Ramos to defeat Deportivo on Saturday and although Zidane’s team barely deserved the win, they got it and its moments like those which win you titles. The same happened in the 90th minutes at the Camp Nou, when Ramos netted a late equaliser. You can play all the lovely football you want but ultimately you must get over the line and win trophies, if you want to be remembered.

The previous 34 match unbeaten run was set by the 1988/89 Real Madrid team, coached by Leo Beenhakker. The team included some great players, such as Emilio Butragueno, Bernd Schuster, Michel and Hugo Sanchez. Having lost the Spanish Supercopa second leg 2-1 at Barcelona, Beenhakker’s team embarked on their run which saw them open a gap at the top of the league table and progress in the European Cup.

Real Madrid had not won the European Cup since 1965/66 and everyone was expecting that to change.  However, in the semi-final at home to AC Milan, a Marco van Basten header saw the Italians take a 1-1 draw back with them to the San Siro. With the second leg still to come, Real Madrid headed to Celta Vigo in La Liga and went down 2-0, despite playing a full-strength team, minus Butragueno. Suddenly, the pressure was on. The unbeaten run was over and Real Madrid faced a very difficult match in Milan. The talk was that Beenhakker’s job was on the line and they lost 5-0, to a very a good team. Real Madrid recovered to win the league and the Copa del Rey, losing only 4 matches all season.  Beenhakker was sacked.

Zidane currently finds himself in a similar position. Top of the league, in the Copa del Rey, in the Champions League Round of 16 and on a fantastic unbeaten run. The question is, when will the run come to an end? When it does, will Zidane pay the ultimate price?