5 Things for Real Madrid Fans to Look Forward to in 2016/17 Liga Season
Real Madrid will head into the post-season in great spirits following their UEFA Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid, with celebrations and silverware lasting far longer in the memory than the close nature of the encounter in the final itself.
A 12-game win streak at the end of the campaign brought them back into contention for the domestic title in La Liga, also giving plenty of reason for optimism in 2016-17, while there have also already been more than enough transfer rumours to suggest it will be a busy summer at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Supporters at the Santiago Bernabeu are notoriously demanding, but they have a lot to look forward to which could make next season an even more memorable one.
Evaluation and Growth of Zidane as a Manager
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Zinedine Zidane has been manager of a top-tier club for barely half a year, yet already he has a Champions League winners' medal to his CV.
It's a phenomenal start to life as boss for the former France international, but even the most blinkered Real fans cannot fail to notice that until the final they barely had a tough opponent to get past en route to the Milan showdown, while the team's performance overall at the San Siro wasn't exactly stellar.
At this point, tactical conclusions and trends that Zidane favours can be drawn based on his league form and usual lineups, but a full season in La Liga and balancing Europe—and the Copa del Rey, which they were out of by the time he took over—with the fitness of his star players and needs of his squad, will be riveting to watch him juggle.
Clearly he has shown he commands the respect of the playing squad and has the man-management capabilities to leave out big-name players when he feels it warranted, but he essentially played the same XI whenever possible, something he'll have to adjust somewhat next term over a full season.
He'll make mistakes, but he'll hopefully learn from them, and he'll come up against football's usual plethora of problems—injuries, suspensions, unhappy players—and how he handles each situation will give a little more insight into whether Zidane the manager can place himself at or near the top of the game's coaching minds.
A New Big-Name Striker and the Ensuing Fight for Goals
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Whatever else club president Florentino Perez decides to do this summer, it seems clear that Real Madrid are in the market for a new centre-forward.
Robert Lewandowski's agent confirmed to Spiegel (h/t Sky Sports) there has been contact from the Spanish club for the Bayern Munich forward, while the ongoing saga regarding Alvaro Morata could yet see the former Real striker pitch up at the Santiago Bernabeu next season.
Karim Benzema managed a goal every 83 minutes in La Liga this season, but he played just 58 per cent of the total possible league minutes due to injury, mainly thigh problems.
Had he been fit more often, the forward could have made the difference in the title race, and it seems the club do not want to be without a senior No. 9 again next term, with Jese an underperformer in the centre and 19-year-old Borja Mayoral the only natural successor to the role this term.
Real's transfer policy isn't always the most reasonable or methodical, but there's certainly logic in their requirement to provide competition or replacements for Benzema next year.
If the Frenchman stays, he needs to maintain a fantastic scoring rate to keep his place in the side if a Lewandowski-type outlay is made on a new striker, who would naturally expect to be a regular starter and name on the scoresheet.
A Full Campaign with a Genuine Designated Holding Midfielder
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The demise of Toni Kroos in 2015-16 centred largely around his ineffectiveness when teams pressed high and flooded the midfield, with the German simply not capable of dominating the centre of the park or tracking back at pace and with power to win back possession.
Kroos became overrun at times, and he wasn't at his best in possession either. Generally, he looked way below his finest level for the entire campaign.
Real's big upturn in fortunes in La Liga can be traced pretty much to the decision to remove Kroos from the holding role in midfield and, instead, playing an individual who specialises in that exact role: Casemiro, a real unsung hero of Real's title challenge and Champions League win.
His inclusion naturally means that one more offensively minded player has to make way, but that's simply called balance in most football clubs.
Real Madrid have too long and too often tried to compromise by shifting attacking players' positions and shoe-horning more into the team. However, allowing just one dynamic, physical and defensively focused player to operate in the centre lets the other midfielders, particularly Luka Modric, raise their game in the final third even further.
That's what comes with trust and assurance that the pitch is locked down behind them, leaving the playmakers and forwards to play without inhibitions or a fear that they could be counter-attacked against if they lose possession.
The tipping point came as Kroos was poor and exposed in a 1-1 draw against Malaga, and then Atletico Madrid bossed midfield on the counter and defended well enough to win 1-0 a match later.
Casemiro played in neither, but he then came into the side until the end of the season—barring one game through injury and another when he was rested for a vital European match—and Real Madrid ended winning every league fixture from that point onward.
Return and Integration of Talented Young Players
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It's unclear as yet just how many of Real Madrid's youngsters will return to play a part next season, but there's a case to be made for at least two youthful names to get the opportunity to play and possibly more.
Marco Asensio is the most well known, having had an impressive season on loan at Espanyol this year.
The attacking midfielder played from the left or in the centre as a link to the striker and showed great creativity, vision, technique on the ball and set-piece delivery; at 20 years of age, he still has work to do to improve consistency and strength against defenders in one-on-one situations, but he has an abundance of talent which could flourish under Zidane.
In addition, Diego Llorente has shown more than enough to suggest he can also play an interesting squad role next season.
Having starred at Rayo Vallecano both in central defence and holding midfield, the 22-year-old must have a case for being allowed to impress in pre-season with a view to being a back-up for Casemiro and/or a fourth centre-back when required.
Martin Odegaard, Marcos Llorente and Mayoral will be other candidates to see game time over the summer.
Ending Barcelona's Domestic Dominance
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The biggest tests have to be the most relished challenges, though, and none come bigger than attempting to end Barcelona's domestic dominance.
Spain rule supreme in Europe, whichever clubs wins either the Champions League or UEFA Europa League, but national titles belong to the Catalan club, winners of both La Liga and the Copa del Rey in each of the past two seasons under Luis Enrique.
Zidane will be boosted by his team winning at the Camp Nou late in the season, and there is no reason that Real Madrid shouldn't start the new season in tremendous spirits, even with Copa America, UEFA Euro 2016 or the Olympics all potentially impacting on squad availability over summer.
New signings, new objectives and a level playing field from the start of Zidane's first full season in charge—no playing catch-up, the pressure on from the first game—will all combine to make it a different atmosphere at the club, but there must be a feeling of optimism that they can genuinely win La Liga in 2016-17.
The fans have much to look forward to—but they must also remember to savour recent successes if things don't immediately go to plan once the new campaign unfolds.
