Dubai: The first major test of Zinedine Zidane’s fledging managerial career takes place on Saturday in the Uefa Champions League final between Madrid rivals Atletico and Real in Milan’s San Siro Stadium from 10.45pm UAE time.
The legendary Frenchman replaced Rafael Benitez as Real coach in January but he missed out on winning La Liga by just a point to Barcelona last week, despite winning 17 of his 20 league games in charge, the last 12 of which were consecutive victories, including a 2-1 win away to the Catalans in April.
By then though the damage had already been done after dropping points in 1-1 away draws to Real Betis and Malaga, before a 1-0 defeat at home to Atletico.
Los Blancos were also disqualified from the Copa del Rey, the Santiago Bernabeu-based side’s only other shot at winning domestic silverware this season, after fielding an ineligible player under Benitez in their 3-1 Last 32 first leg win away to Cadiz in December.
Russian winger Denis Cheryshev, who netted the opener in that game, had an existing one-match ban held over from last season’s competition when he was on loan at Villarreal.
As coach of Real’s Castilla reserve side at the time of this debacle, Zidane can’t be culpable for that oversight. But their disqualification has dumped even more pressure on him, as his attempt not to end his first season empty-handed now boils down to this one crunch Champions League showdown with their city rivals.
Real have only beaten Atletico once in their last 10 meetings across all competitions since beating Los Rojiblancos 4-1 in the Champions League final two years ago to complete ‘La Decima’ — their record tenth European Cup title.
Add to the boil Gareth Bale’s claim this week that none of the Atletico players would get in the Real squad, plus Cristiano Ronaldo’s training ground injury scare, and the pressure rises considerably.
With 35 league goals and 51 scored overall this season, Ronaldo’s possible omission would be devastating. And as if Atletico needed any more reason to get fired up for this game to avenge 2014 loss, there are now Bale’s comments to stoke the flames.
Defeat would see Real finish a season empty-handed for the first time since 2010, when Manuel Pellegrini was ousted for Jose Mourinho.
Zidane is unlikely to suffer a similar fate even by Real’s ultra-fickle standards, as he’s less than six months into his tenure, and adored by the Madridistas, who still cherish fond memories from his playing days. The fault will likely lay with his predecessor Benitez, who won just 11 of his 18 games in charge, including a 4-0 loss at home to Barcelona in November.
That said, defeat in the final for Zidane would, however, be a major disappointment for him at this early stage in his career, and as well as dragging up that age old debate about whether great players can become great managers, it would also affect the mood and momentum heading into the start of his first full season in charge, with the press hounding him until he can end his wait for a title.
It would also only be Real’s fourth defeat in 14 Champions League final appearances, the last of which was in 1981.
There was never any doubting Zizou’s ability as a player having won everything there is to win for club and country, including the Champions League with Real in 2002 when he scored that spectacular volleyed match-winner in the final against Bayern Leverkusen at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
But it will soon be questioned whether his appointment was more emotive than calculated if he stumbles in this first acid test.
To a much lesser extent it could also be a watershed moment for Atletico coach Diego Simeone.
Under the Argentine, who has been at the Vicente Calderon Stadium since 2011, Atletico admirably punched above their weight to end a nine-year Real-Barca stronghold over the La Liga title in 2014, the same year they also lost 4-1 to Real in their second Champions League final appearance, having earlier lost 4-0 to Bayern Munich in 1974.
Two years on and it’s imperative for Atletico to show they have improved after that drubbing, which they obviously have, if you count their five wins and four draws over Real in the last 10 matches since the 2014 final.
Another loss against Real in their third final appearance however, might leave Simeone questioning whether he’s taken Atletico as far as they can go, while also whetting his appetite for more.
His name had already come up in discussion ahead of Antonio Conte’s Chelsea appointment to replace Mourinho, and he was also floated as a possible glamour replacement to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, should the Frenchman ever leave. He may be too young — at the age of just 46 — to consider the Argentina role, should that become vacant after this summer’s Copa America, but his name would easily top the list of candidates.
If Atletico win, however, it would refuel Simeone’s bid to stage another assault on La Liga next season.
