Real Madrid's LaLiga Success Depends on Zidane Overcoming 'Small-Game' Mentality
A second win at the start of the new Primera Division season for Real Madrid has almost flown under the radar, after Zinedine Zidane's team beat Celta Vigo 2-1 on Saturday in a low-key match in which Los Blancos were not at their best.
The result was important, the performance less so come the full-time whistle. But in the lead-up to the game, fans could have perhaps been forgiven for not having full attention on the fact there even was a match, with little club-related focus in the media actually concerning on-pitch events.
In what is certain to be another highly competitive race for the title with Barcelona, every three-point haul is crucial for Real Madrid, even if the games they take those victories from are not the highest-profile fixtures.
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What the fast start from the top two shows—in conjunction with the choices of the Spanish media—is that Zidane's biggest task this season might be ensuring maximum levels of performance and concentration from his team, even when the fixtures themselves aren't the most glamorous.
Game and Detail
The match itself belied the fact it was neither the biggest fixture of the weekend in LaLiga nor one that particularly captured the imagination in the buildup: slow-paced at times, not the succession of clear-cut chances which might have been expected and, ultimately, a less comfortable victory than might be the case most weekends.
Still shorn of stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Zidane went with the same attacking options as he did in the season opener. And although he didn't score, Gareth Bale was often the first reference point for the front line both in terms of opening up Celta and in getting shots away.
Alvaro Morata scored his first goal of the season—albeit from an offside position—and Toni Kroos netted the winner, another indication of the German's increased offensive presence since the end of last season.
Zidane has utilised the ability of four offensive-minded midfielders to get those central players breaking forward often over the summer, and it is already paying dividends.
Perhaps the slow start to the game was partly due to the buildup and lack of real excitement surrounding a run-of-the-mill home game against an upper-to-mid-table team, but it's important to note that teams cannot be at 100 per cent every week. What's important is that when the fluidity, intuitive play and offensive speed are missing, the concentration, determination and clinical edge are not.
Zidane's team managed to do enough at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to take the three points, and he perhaps can take one or two lessons about mentally managing his squad from this match that he hasn't been able to do beforehand. After all, last season was all about continually high-profile European matches and the chase to hunt down Barca in LaLiga.
Buildup and Coverage
Real Madrid, being perhaps the biggest club in the world, are always in the news. One way or another, many stories link to them, and if they don't, plenty of other narratives can soon be created.
There are the transfer stories to bear in mind with most clubs as the window draws to a close, but even beyond the scope of potential ins and outs, Real had dominated Spanish media lines during the buildup to the most recent round of league fixtures.
While the national sports papers are notoriously split in their coverage—Marca and AS lean toward Real Madrid, while Sport and Mundo Deportivo focus more on Barcelona—both clubs are mentioned in all papers almost every day, such is the spread of fandom throughout the country.
While Real's players were preparing for a game, however, the media focused on seemingly every aspect but the fixture.
There was Ronaldo and Bale vying for the UEFA Player of the Year gong alongside Antoine Griezmann as the biggest story of the week, with both Marca and AS giving the story attention on the day of the award and the one following.
Elsewhere, there was the return of former striker Ronaldo in a club ambassadorial role, the ongoing saga surrounding James Rodriguez's possible departure, Benzema's fitness and the UEFA Champions League draw, with Mundo Deportivo opining that Los Blancos had been given a free pass to the knockout stage with their lot.
The stories were varied, seemingly endless, and all of them apparently warranted more inches than the upcoming 90 minutes against Celta Vigo.
In Marca on Friday, the day before the game, there was not a single mention of the Madrid-Celta fixture beyond expected lineups in the fantasy football section.
More than a (match-playing) club?
Big-Game Reversal
Everybody knows when El Clasico is on the way.
From a week beforehand or more, reruns are on television, talk shows are packed with biased opinions over who will play a pivotal role, social media output from both clubs reaches saturation levels and each time is inevitably billed as the most important match between these rivals in recent years, regardless of competition or context.
That's fine because it is a big game, it does carry weight in terms of success of the season and many football fans look forward to it, just like they do a big cup semi-final or a local derby of note. But although those fixtures might stick in the memory—before and after the event—taken in isolation, they do not mean silverware is lifted.
It is the everyday game, the flat-track bully environment, where success in LaLiga is attained, with quickly forgotten victories in games against Sporting Gijon, Deportivo La Coruna and Granada worth far more than a one-off success against Atletico Madrid or Valencia.
To gauge the difference in approaching this lower-profile type of fixture, B/R spoke with season-ticket holder and local fan and restaurant owner Luis Moro (@trastiendatapas) ahead of the Celta game for how his own Real Madrid news fix had been taken care of before heading to the Bernabeu.
His response was telling: "I always buy newspapers, but this week there has been nothing about the match. The attention is elsewhere: the national team, transfers and the Champions League draw. The match isn't very important, and the media haven't put much effort into it."
Regardless of the buildup, Luis expected the result to go Real Madrid's way as a matter of course and spoke of the general fanbase's appreciation of the boss—"we're full of Felizidane" was a particular highlight of the chat, the latter word being a mix of the manager's surname and the Spanish word for happiness, felicidad.
When pressed further on the news that had caught his eye in the week, Moro signalled the chatter around Morata's work ethic and lack of goals and the "explosion" onto the scene of Marco Asensio as the main topics of conversation.
Player focus, always on individuals who can make headlines—whether positive or negative—takes the media's spin over a match that cannot capture the imagination of those who are already heading to watch.
Zidane and Focus
The points tally to win LaLiga in the past five seasons has been 91, 94, 90, 100 and 100.
While some football supporters are of the opinion that LaLiga is less competitive because Barcelona and Real Madrid often dominate for long stretches, it's perhaps the most competitive to actually lift that piece of silverware.
Without utter relentlessness, it is impossible to win the Spanish top flight. Atletico Madrid found that to their cost last season despite winning 28 times, the same as Real and one fewer victory than champions Barca.
Every draw instead of defeat matters—as does every win instead of a draw. Two games into the 2016/17 season, Atleti have already drawn twice and are playing catch-up against the other two.
The Champions League takes care of itself, as each occasion to take to the field is a big game, perhaps aside from the final group tie, when teams have already qualified. But for Zidane to make sure his men end up hoisting the title aloft in their domestic league this season, his mental management of the squad will be as important, if not more, as his tactical acumen.
Keeping Real Madrid's players focused and determined in these smaller, seemingly less pivotal, easily forgotten fixtures that are not under the media's intense glare is all-important.
Come May, few people will remember the one-goal margin of victory over Celta. However, if Real finish a maximum of two points clear of Atletico, as they did last season, perhaps it's worth bearing in mind that on Gameweek 2, Zidane's men beat opposition who didn't warrant column inches, while Diego Simeone's charges drew 0-0 with Leganes.
Thanks to Paul Reidy for introduction and to Luis Moro and family for time and photo use permissions.
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