Not a perfect candidate for a number of reasons but a better bet than Conte in my opinion. A better attitude, more likely to work well with the players we have and a better record in the CL (which after all is the only decent competition we’re still in).
Zinedine Zidane - 3 time CL winning manager without a job
- Thread starter Bastian
- Start date
Cons:
- Is his footballing philosophy/coached style of play obvious.
Well that's something that one certainly could not accuse Ole of......
- Is his footballing philosophy/coached style of play obvious.
Well that's something that one certainly could not accuse Ole of......
What particularly impressed me was how Ancelotti and in particular Zidane was such an upgrade on Mourinho at Real, it was unreal (pun intended). They really exposed the primitive and small-minded nature of his tactics. Mourinho had an amazing squad and he was still playing like an underdog, always on the backfoot, defensively deep, always damage limitations in big games.He lucked his way to 4 CLs and a league title? They mostly had the same team before and after, wonder why the other managers weren't so lucky.
Zidane on the other hand, knew he had amazing group of players capable of outscoring any opposition and he knew how to deploy them to devastating effect.
Just one example: he pushed the backline high up knowing that Ramos and Varane always have the pace to cover any attacker who broke through the offside trap, thereby squeezing the play in the middle giving little space to opposition teams and reducing the gap between Real's world class attacking players and the opposition goal. It was just too easy for them.
I don't think Zidane is stupid or brave enough to take the job to be honest.
Part of the reason we've got Ole is a lot of managers thought "feck... THAT" because of the set-up we have as a club, and (at the time) the squad. The only one to take it on was going to be someone who actually gave a shit about the club and who didn't have better offers on the table.
Conte probably has the ego to take it, but so did Mourinho and that was a disaster.
Part of the reason we've got Ole is a lot of managers thought "feck... THAT" because of the set-up we have as a club, and (at the time) the squad. The only one to take it on was going to be someone who actually gave a shit about the club and who didn't have better offers on the table.
Conte probably has the ego to take it, but so did Mourinho and that was a disaster.
The one available managers with the most pros and least cons
I mean I guess so but I’d be stunned if he didn’t and couldn’t learn the basics. I remember Pochettino couldn’t speak a word when he came to England and now his English is probably better than mine!
He is the Ole Solskjaer of Real Madrid, he will come here to find, a past it Ronaldo, no Ramos but Maguire instead, instead of Casemiro, Kroos and Modric he gets Fred and Scotty, and no Benzema only Rashford. We will be asking for his head come May.
The Ole of Real Madrid if Ole won 3 CL titles and 2 league titles in 4.5 seasons as manager. Funny how the other managers have failed with those players though.
Rooney is doing alright at Derby.
Other managers have failed? I am not sure, the team fell apart when Ronaldo decided to move on, Zidane had the luxury to be there at Ronaldo's absolute peak which also coincided with Ramos, Marcelo, Navas, Kroos Casemiro, Modric and probably 5 other players at the peak of their careers. At no other place he will get that pool of talent and certainly not here.
He won the league without Ronaldo.
When Ronaldo moved on Real Madrid won the league and reached the CL semi finals, they didn't fell apart. Zidane is also the only manager not named Del Bosque to win two league titles with Real Madrid in the last 20 years.
Ronaldo wasn't at his peak then. His peak was in 2011/2012. Ramos was also heavily improved under Zidane. To me Zidane's second stint at Madrid proves he is not some guy who got lucky. This is a guy who knows what he is doing. I just don't think he'd fancy United due to the weather and the fact he doesn't know English.
As the last guy said, he won the league without Ronaldo and with an aging team. He reached the CL semi final last year with their team in transition. He also won 3 CL titles in a row when he had his peak team. Lopetegui and Solari failed horribly in 18/19. Benitez was flopping until he got sacked and Zidane took over mid season so win the CL and go on a crazy league run. Ancelotti did well in the CL but didn't win the league. Mourinho last won the league in 2011 (but never the CL) before Zidane in 2017.
Pep Guardiola with that brilliant Barcelona team wasn't as successful as Zidane was in those years. A great squad doesn't equal success, certainly not continued success.
Solari is the Ole of Madrid if anything
They almost mirror each other oddly as well, each coached the reserves, came in as caretakers in late 2018, Madrid sack Solari in March 2019 but Ole continues on with United.
Funny you mention Casemiro because he wasn't even a starter when Zidane came in but he knew the value of functional midfield instantly and reintroduced him into the main lineup. Casemiro became one of the best defensive midfielders in the game, Modric went up a level and won a ballon D'or two years later under him.
United don't have the same individual quality there but they have enough pieces now that could fix the midfield temporarily till the transfer market and that's exactly what Zidane is so good at.
Current UTD squad > Madrid squad in Zidane's 2nd tenure
He won the league and spanked Liverpool in the CL with that squad
He won the league and spanked Liverpool in the CL with that squad
I think he has a track record of winning and dealing with big names, that's what we need. Ten Hag for all the great things he has done with Ajax of late is managing the top team in a league that offers little competition relative to the premier league. I like his style and he is showing good things but I don't think he's the right fit for us in terms of the size of the ego's, the job itself, it's not just a step up, it's different.
Again, the height of arrogance and ignorance from United fans after seeing the team get clobbered 0-5 to Liverpool.
The Madrid squad is miles better, IMO.
Courtois and DDG are much the same so ignore those.
Ramos, Militao, Nacho > Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly. Varane was in both so excluded.
Mendy > Shaw. Luke Shaw has become hilariously overrated recently. Nowhere near as good as United or England fans think he is.
I don't know who played most of the games at RB for Madrid but it doesn't matter, they'll still be better than Wan-Bissaka, whether it was Nacho, Carvajal or Lucas Vasquez.
Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Valverde, Isco > Pogba, McTominay, Fred, Matic, Bruno. Bruno is quality, no doubt, and second only to Modric out of all the names listed but as a collective unit, RM's midfield is much better. It's hard to put into words just how far away Fred and McTominay are from being Man United level squad players never mind two nailed on starters.
Vinicius, Rodrygo, Asensio, Hazard > Rashford, Greenwood, Sancho, Martial/Lingard. This one will probably be controversial because Rashford and Greenwood are United fans who came through the ranks and Sancho is the big money signing after years of chasing him. Rashford, I don't particularly rate. He's fast physically but crucially slow mentally. Just runs into his defender more often than not. Greenwood has loads of potential and has started his career well but he doesn't offer enough outside of a goal threat for me. Sancho's performances speak for themselves. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that leaving a fluid, entertaining, attacking side like Dortmund to come to Ole's ragtag bunch of misfits with no shape and no system probably hasn't helped him at all.
Benzema > Ronaldo. This one isn't even particularly close, is it?
Bruno and Varane are excellent. Sancho could be in the right system. The rest are lucky to even be at a club like Man United (DDG excluded).
He is my pick for the next manager.
Ten Haag doesnt have the experience of managing a big club(no offence to Ajax). Conte is too defensive. Zidane has worked with Ronaldo and Varane before, and is a pragmatic manager, who excels at getting the best out of teams. That's exactly what we need, not another manager who will "need time".
After Zidane fires this team to success, we can start looking for someone like Ten Haag.
Ten Haag doesnt have the experience of managing a big club(no offence to Ajax). Conte is too defensive. Zidane has worked with Ronaldo and Varane before, and is a pragmatic manager, who excels at getting the best out of teams. That's exactly what we need, not another manager who will "need time".
After Zidane fires this team to success, we can start looking for someone like Ten Haag.
Yes we need a manager who can take this team to success now. Unfortunately Zidane might not be interested
He'd command respect with his achievements, at least.
Ronaldo and Varane must think "Seriously?" when they're being told what to do by a guy who won a Norwegian title and got relegated with Cardiff.
Ronaldo and Varane must think "Seriously?" when they're being told what to do by a guy who won a Norwegian title and got relegated with Cardiff.
Is it too late to salvage the league even if we bring a top coach in?
It has to be Zidane. Conte doesn't fit United but Zidane would.
Just said in another thread that I would take Conte, but don’t want him.
Zidane I think would be an absolute hit here. You don’t win what he did by luck. He’ll command respect, and this squad it taylor made for him I feel. Not the best option long term, but this is modern day football. Lets get him in.
Zidane I think would be an absolute hit here. You don’t win what he did by luck. He’ll command respect, and this squad it taylor made for him I feel. Not the best option long term, but this is modern day football. Lets get him in.
What
You also got some of the others the wrong way round. Bruno isn't close to being a better midfielder than Kroos or Casemiro. In his current role, he's more of a forward or second striker than anything else.
Plus, Greenwood, Rashford and co are probably better than Asensio, Vinicius and Rodrygo of last season. Maybe this year, its a different story as the Vinicius has improved considerably.
The defence you're correct about though.
Yes that’s a comprehensive summary of Solskjaer’s achievements in football.
Sorry, I forgot Europa League runner up.
Zidane is probably the only guy available right now who could achieve something this season with the squad as it stands, but he's not someone who I can see staying for long or who I'd particularly want left in charge of laying the groundwork for the future.
Would be an ideal stop-gap in the eventuality that we have a long-term target who we have to wait a year or two to land, with the proviso that our recruitment should be overseen by someone whose focus is building a squad the next guy will be able to work with.
Would be an ideal stop-gap in the eventuality that we have a long-term target who we have to wait a year or two to land, with the proviso that our recruitment should be overseen by someone whose focus is building a squad the next guy will be able to work with.
The only issue is he'll ditch us the moment the France job becomes available.
Benzema is better
Wouldn’t that be perfect? The guy we all really want is Ten Hag.
Zidane is so much better than Conte.. Conte's football is boring
He didn't win 3x CL, Ronaldo did. With a little help from his teammates. Jesus feck, this Zidane nonsense has to stop. He is just another OGS, probably worse since he knows feck all about this club and its fans. No, let's not yet again rush into something stupid. et
100% spot on. Zidane got carried by CR7 and a few other superstars. Mostly CR7. Sadly, our board might actually be dumb enough to hire him. Him and Conte.. YIKES, how we are in a free-fall with no safe land in site.
100% spot on. Zidane got carried by CR7 and a few other superstars. Mostly CR7. Sadly, our board might actually be dumb enough to hire him. Him and Conte.. YIKES, how we are in a free-fall with no safe land in site.
Ten Hag will probably be taken by that time. Let's do the smart thing and snatch up Ten Hag right now.
Get him!
In the middle of the season? If Ten Hag is willing to do that to Ajax then of course, but I doubt he would do such a thing. Very much worth exploring, however.