Real Madrid Job Is Zinedine Zidane's Destiny, but He Should Stay Away for Now
Almost from the time he first set foot through the doors at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez has been met with distrust and opposition.
While he doesn't hugely help himself with his solitary style of management and general refusal to acknowledge that the biggest stars of all like to all get preferential treatment, it's also fair to say he hasn't been given anything like the credit he deserves for the good start to the campaign...or the leeway given the circumstances of the season so far.
An horrendous injury list, star names not performing and other factors mean Real sit third in La Liga and Benitez's job is already on the line, with Marca reporting that Zinedine Zidane—manager of Real Madrid Castilla, the B team—is the favourite to take over from the Spaniard.
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It's a move which will eventually happen sooner or later, no doubt, but for now Zidane should be looking to maintain his back seat and continue his own career progression at Castilla or elsewhere.
Moving straight up to the hottest of hot seats in world football will only put the French legend in a difficult position which he cannot hope to sustain long-term and will eventually be another dismal chapter in self-harm from a club which seems incapable of resisting its trigger finger.
Playing Safe
Of course, Zidane is aware of the speculation surrounding him, but as a manager working in the same club as Benitez—below Benitez, in fact—he's hardly going to come out and say he'd love the job.
Consistently, the Castilla boss has said that the dynamic in which Benitez is in the main role and he continues to learn is the ideal scenario. His recent press conference indicated the same sentiment:
"I am the manager of Castilla, Benítez is the manager of the first team, and things are fine like that. I am happy with the way things have gone for Castilla today against tough opponents. I stayed because of Castilla. Last year I finished up feeling that there was something missing. I am quite stubborn and when I don't meet an objective. I feel I have to keep on with it.
I have a long way to go, and anyway a manager is never really fully formed. What I am doing as I did when I was a player, I am doing bit by bit. I am not in a hurry for anything. My current job is Castilla and I am going to continue with it.
"
Natural and admirable sentiments, though there's no doubting that Zidane wants to eventually be in prime position. It won't be long, since Zidane was chastised for leading the Castilla side without having the appropriate qualifications—a suspension was later quashed by the courts. But he's probably better off for now, from a purely coaching standpoint, plying his trade out of the harsh spotlights of a big club's first team.
Promote from Within
Sooner or later, Benitez will be out of a job—that's up there with the worst-kept secrets in world football. And, when he does depart, it's inevitable that Zidane will be one of the first names both club and fans turn to as someone who can "save the season."
It may sound or feel odd to fans from other countries that such an inexperienced coach can be given a high-profile position straight away, but it's a reasonably familiar path to tread in Spain.
Barcelona, of course, appointed Pep Guardiola after a stint with the B team, while current boss Luis Enrique—via AS Roma and Celta Vigo—did the same, as did the late Tito Vilanova, albeit in an assistant capacity.
Elsewhere, Sergio was promoted to Espanyol boss (and sacked last week) after being in charge of the B team beforehand, and even Benitez himself used to be Real's B team boss.
Promoting from within is seen as a way of continuity and understanding of the club, doubly important in a league which has such a high turnover of managers.
Zidane, of course, has not only managed Castilla but has also represented the first team for five years and would immediately have the respect of much of the dressing room for his achievements, one would suspect.
But that only goes so far—and for perhaps even less time than usual at Real Madrid.
Lose-Lose
Aside from the actual fact that he'd be Real Madrid manager, which presents an impressive title and a great opportunity whenever it comes, there is very little upside to Zidane's taking over in the short term.
The chance of winning the title this season isn't exactly gone, but the squad is clearly in disarray and lacking the professionalism and direction within themselves to play as instructed, play to their highest level or put in the basic work required.
All the talent in the world won't do a thing without application, and from James Rodriguez to Isco, from Cristiano Ronaldo to Toni Kroos, performances, body language and clips of players on the bench indicate a seriously disturbing lack of respect to the manager in place—a manager who, lest it be forgotten, remains the last man to lead a team not called Atletico, Real or Barcelona to the title.
Which he did twice...as well as win the Champions League, reach another CL final and win two UEFA Cups/Europa Leagues.
Benitez might not have had the year-on-year success that Jose Mourinho, for example, has managed, but there still aren't too many bosses who can reel off the honours list that the current incumbent of the Real Madrid manager's position can.
Zidane would be moving not into a harmonious dressing room where the players hung on his every word, but what is clearly something of a clique-driven, ego-fuelled viper pit where any dissatisfaction manifests itself in childish cries for attention and a refusal to perform at the highest levels of ability and conduct.
Zidane might have been an absolute star as a player, but he's utterly unproven as a manager. Any weakness or inability to direct this group in the manner they believe is right would likely be pounced upon in the same way.
It's also fair to say that certain non-Real-loving sections of the media, in Spain and further afield, would also—despite Zidane's public words—suggest that he perhaps gave the go-ahead to the club's hierarchy before Benitez was ordered out. It doesn't even need to be remotely true; just the suggestion that he was involved in that sort of behaviour will linger with him from the very outset of his managerial career.
Real Madrid: a Short-Term Career Move
If not now, then when?
That might be the question Zidane asks himself if the job is actually offered to him...but it's not one he needs to spend long pondering. The demands for success and the outright fury at every defeat, however undeserved, irrelevant or defensible, means that sooner or later the position always becomes available again.
There's a balancing act for Zidane though: If he doesn't take the job immediately and goes elsewhere to cut his managerial teeth at the top level and fails to achieve reasonable success, will Real want him afterward? On the other hand, if he does accept the Real position, he knows it's still only going to be for 18 months, or two years or a similarly short period of time.
The club is incapable of helping itself in that manner; the head coach is the flavour of the month (sometimes not even that long) and is expected to deliver instant results even when injuries, rivals' strengthening or transfer activity is taken out of his hands.
Real Madrid are currently third in the table, five points off the top less than halfway through the season. It's not exactly the end of the world—they could be top in February and started off the season scoring plenty and keeping clean sheets.
But reactionism and revisionism rule the roost at Real, and numbers will be skewed to suit agendas—this season is "the worst since 2008-09" screamed one Marca headline this week, as if seven seasons back takes us into the far-distant reaches of memory and is therefore reason to immediately sever all ties with the manager.
"Players ditch Benitez for Christmas dinner" is another classic—as if the playing staff didn't always have their own night out together at this time of year, away and separate from the non-players. Nope, this year it's "the squad closed ranks" and "did not invite the coaching staff."
They might be slightly more cordial when it comes time to revoke Zidane's status as boss, but that time will come sooner or later.
Legendary Status
And when it does, Zidane the Real Madrid (and world football) legend will be damaging his own credibility and should have walked away, should never have taken over in the first place, the people will say.
The sentences sound different, but the meaning is the same each time the fans, the media or the board want the coach (eight in the last 10 years, but who's keeping count anyway) replaced. They weren't good enough, weren't respected, weren't playing the right way.
A current particular favourite criticism is that Real Madrid are a club used to winning, and Rafa Benitez doesn't necessarily go out to win well enough, quickly enough, often enough, convincingly enough.
Used to winning what, exactly? One La Liga title in seven years? One Champions League title in 13?
Newsflash for anyone associated with the club: Your approach is not working consistently well. It needs to alter.
And hey, maybe Zidane is just the man to get everybody onside and pulling in the same direction...
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