Why Zinedine Zidane Should Use 4-4-2 More Often at Real Madrid in 2016-17 Season

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is preparing for his first full season as head coach, drawing up pre-season plans and no doubt identifying which areas he wishes to strengthen and alter the balance of the squad in the transfer window.

There's plenty to improve for the Santiago Bernabeu club, even in light of their UEFA Champions League triumph. One of the areas Zidane most needs to work on—and perhaps the biggest area of intrigue for those watching from the outside—is his tactical deployment of the team.

For the first five or six months of his reign, Zidane stuck largely to a 4-3-3 system, infrequently changing the structure of the side, even when injuries decimated certain areas and youth players, such as Borja Mayoral, had to be included.

Over the course of an entire season, that simply won't do; Zidane will need to find an alternative plan or two as part of his preparation work for the season, as discussed in our Real Madrid summer blueprint.

One such variation that would fit the team extremely well and benefit Zidane in a number of ways is to play the narrow, inverted-midfield variation of 4-4-2, which was seen for a spell under Carlo Ancelotti and which Zidane also switched to on a couple of occasions toward the end of 2015-16.

Preferred System

There's nothing inherently wrong with picking 4-3-3 (or any other system) as a primary formation, of course. Zidane opted early on to make it clear the BBC attack, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, would be in place at every opportunity—but rigidly sticking with one system is missing a trick for most teams. That's certainly the case for the Frenchman, who hasn't yet experimented outside the confinement of 4-3-3 for a notable run of games.

Adding Casemiro to his midfield base gave a platform for the offensive-minded players to rampage forward unchecked at times, but little by little, there was more structure visible when Real were out of possession, especially in Europe.

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The away leg at Manchester City in the semi-final was perhaps the most glaring moment when Real showed they had realised they couldn't simply attack at all costs in every game without repercussions—a lesson no doubt learned one round earlier when they should have been beaten out of sight by Wolfsburg.

Summer transfers could change much, but 4-3-3 is still likely to be Zidane's go-to system at the start of 2016-17.

Ronaldo, Bale

So why 4-4-2? Simply put, it offers the balance required between attacking numbers and defensive solidity while also enabling star players to show their best traits.

Having discussed why Ronaldo should remain on the left flank whenever possible in the three-pronged attack, it needs to be acknowledged he has proved extremely adept at being a central attacker too—but most often when paired with another in a two-man strikeforce.

If one is able to play high and leave space between defensive and midfield lines, Ronaldo can be devastating at picking up balls from deep, running at the defence and shooting from central areas.

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Ancelotti's time in charge also had a brief run when Ronaldo and Bale both played as strikers in a 4-4-2, often late in games when their pace and direct running would rip apart teams on the counter, finishing off matches that had previously been close.

As for Bale, the Welshman has two great strengths Ronaldo does not: the endurance and stamina to play on the wing and the tactical discipline to play the wing role with effectiveness in both halves. Ronaldo can be selfless in the final third, but Bale's willingness to track back, make challenges and then have the physical prowess to surge forward make him a standout in this regard.

In the brief spell when Zidane used 4-4-2, Bale was excellent as a winger, and this is a genuine option for the team next term.

Whether playing from the right and able to run infield or on the left, as he did in his days at Tottenham Hotspur, as a marauding, unstoppable monster of pace down the channel, Bale should be key to Zidane's tactical plans next season, both in terms of the first-choice system and creating an effective secondary strategy.

The Attacking Midfield

Bale and Ronaldo aren't the only ones who would thrive in the 4-4-2, though.

For all of Bale's ability to make a success of a flank role, Lucas Vazquez offers a similar (if Bale-lite version) prospect. 

Indeed, if Zidane wanted to have a hardworking midfield for a particular game yet be able to stretch teams when on the attack, playing both as inverted or genuine wingers would give Real the ability to do exactly that, something few teams in La Liga are used to defending against or can do capably, especially considering the crossing ability of Bale and the heading power of Benzema and Ronaldo.

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Elsewhere, if Isco and James Rodriguez remain at the club—neither is a sure bet just yet—then both have excelled most with Real Madrid when playing wide in a 4-4-2.

Isco left and James right—both were involved, showed consistency in performance levels and were productive in the final third when operating in this system under Zidane. If both are involved at once, it naturally means the ongoing question of which player to leave out of the regular lineup rears its head again. But Zidane cannot get through an entire season using just 12 or 13 favourite starters next year.

It must be a squad contribution, and there will be enormous expectation on one of those two to step up and showcase his true ability after a disastrous individual season.

Minutes, Options, Unpredictability

Real Madrid have a squad that could challenge for the league title in Spain. It needs a couple of additions—and should get them over the summer—but most tellingly, Real have a generally happy squad. The lack of a harmonious dressing room, or a manager who does not have the support of the media, was seen last season with Rafa Benitez in charge.

Zidane immediately restored that simply by way of his Real Madrid past, but winning the Champions League gives him a credibility with the squad that goes beyond past achievements.

To build on that, he must be prepared to accept his initial outlook and plans for games might not work every time and have a change of plan in terms of both personnel and approach.

Using a 4-4-2 gets the best out of those most capable of having an impact in the final third, and it would be a huge mistake on the manager's part not to get in some game time using this system, and perhaps another, over the summer.

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