This may be the year Zinedine Zidane finally gains full recognition for his performance as a Real Madrid coach, because if he leads this side to Champions League glory after Wednesday’s 0-0 draw in Liverpool’s quarter-finals, it will be best win so far. .
– Real Madrid bus window smashed on the way to Anfield
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Real’s 3-1 victory in last week’s first leg in Spain eventually provided a comfortable cushion for the return to Anfield, and booked a semi-final against Chelsea later this month. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Zidane’s team once again faced empty stands to be one step closer to winning a record-lengthening 14th European Cup.
“I won’t say anything, we live in the two leagues [along with La Liga], we are happy, but we have also won nothing. We’ve had some tough times, but we’re here at the end of the season when you play for everything and we have to keep going, ”said Zidane.
Liverpool created many opportunities to win the match and the draw, but unlike their incredible 4-0 win over Anfield against Barcelona in the 2019 semi-final, the ball didn’t roll for Jurgen Klopp’s team on this occasion.
Genuine, full of experience and know-how, just held the nerves and got the job done. And that in itself is a testament to the kind of qualities this team possesses, such as durability, patience and tenacity, which are not usually associated with Real Madrid.
When Zidane led the club to three consecutive Champions League titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018, it was a team of brilliant talent led by Cristiano Ronaldo and backed by Gareth Bale in his prime, with Pepe’s defensive solidity in the back. Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos were also part of Zidane’s hat-trick of Champions League success when they were all at the peak of their careers.
But when Zidane’s Real was eliminated from Manchester City’s Round of 16 stage last season, it looked as if the club were ready for a transition period, with a new wave of players having to buy and blood to replace the old guard. That still has to happen with Kroos, Modric, Benzema and Ramos, all on the wrong side of 30 years old, but despite this Real team’s marked decline from its heights during the later years of the last decade, Zidane has them on somehow to a Champions League Semi-final.
“It’s the character they have. They always want more, the more difficulties the team has, the more they come together. After that, of course, we have more than enough quality, but it’s the character that the players have,” Zidane said of him. . players.
Liverpool, despite their domestic troubles in a season where several major injuries disrupted their Premier League title defenses, remain a threat in Europe and Klopp’s team could have comfortably won this draw had they taken their chances on the second leg. But Zidane and Real have still passed the test and will now believe they can become European champions again this season.
They hope captain Ramos will be fit and available for the draw against Chelsea, with the central half missing this draw due to an injury before testing positive for COVID-19 and Raphael Varane, who missed both legs of the draw due to the virus. will probably come back to see Thomas Tuchel’s side as well.
So Real go forward knowing they will be stronger. But while Benzema remains a world-class center forward, with 20-year-old Vinicius Junior offering speed alongside the Frenchman, this Real team lacks the adventure and star quality of its predecessors. It’s a more prosaic team, without a clear pairing player, so Zidane must find a way to ensure Real can beat Chelsea for a final against City of Paris Saint-Germain.
And that is the challenge that, if achieved, will take Zidane to another level as a coach. It would also make him the first coach to win four European Cups, so history really beckons for the 48-year-old.
Chelsea, with just two losses in 18 games under Tuchel, will not fear this Real team, but their dismantling of Liverpool in the first leg will serve as a warning to Stamford Bridge. Liverpool gave Kroos far too much time and space to wreck his passing and they were caught by Vinicius’ pace.
But Real’s shortcomings at the back were also exposed by Liverpool on both legs and required an impressive second-half appearance from former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to keep Liverpool at bay.
However, Zidane will happily face Chelsea in the next round instead of City or PSG. As it stands, City and PSG would be favorites in a draw with Real, but few would write off Real in a one-off match in the Istanbul final. Leading Real to victory on those three previous occasions, Zidane knew he was in charge of the best team in Europe and they proved it every time.
This season Real is one of the outsiders and it is an unfamiliar position for them to be in, which is why it will be all the more special and important when Zidane can dream up yet another victory in the Real Madrid Champions League.