Zinedine Zidane - 3 time CL winning manager without a job

JPRouve

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Would you take him as the Utd manager? Too many posters seem to think he does not do much on the tactical side. Not sure how much to believe that...
If he wanted to, absolutely. And there is no way the not much tactics is a thing when he mainly won CLs through turning games around with in-game tactical changes.
 

Bebestation

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If he wanted to, absolutely. And there is no way the not much tactics is a thing when he mainly won CLs through turning games around with in-game tactical changes.
Yeah maybe just because he doesn't have a tactical style - doesn't make him tactically negligent. The ability to make tactical changes is the most important.


Hell, who really knows- maybe the reason he went and won a treble CL in the row is because he doesn't really have a tactical style at all but is able to make the tactical changes.

You wonder if Pep outside his Barcelona comfort zone has gotten clubs too much in to a tactical style as seen by how they can struggle a bit in the CL except maybe one year when they lost it in the final anyway.
 

JPRouve

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Yeah maybe just because he doesn't have a tactical style - doesn't make him tactically negligent. The ability to make tactical changes is the most important.


Hell, who really knows- maybe the reason he went and won a treble CL in the row is because he doesn't really have a tactical style at all but is able to make the tactical changes.

You wonder if Pep outside his Barcelona comfort zone has gotten clubs too much in to a tactical style as seen by how they can struggle a bit in the CL except maybe one year when they lost it in the final anyway.
He has tactical preferences that are quite obvious, he puts an emphasis on using the entire width of the field, controlling the tempo of the game and crowding the box when the ball reach the final third. Real Madrid did these things with several setups and possession ratios but they did it consistently. To me Zidane is more in the SAF/Heynckes wavelength.
 

Iker Quesadillas

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You wonder if Pep outside his Barcelona comfort zone has gotten clubs too much in to a tactical style as seen by how they can struggle a bit in the CL except maybe one year when they lost it in the final anyway.
The bias is that when people want tactical managers, they want tactical novelty. It's a very start-up mentality: we need to innovate full backs.
 

André Dominguez

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I suspect Juve is next for him, at this point. I can see Allegri being sacked at mid-season by the look of the results.
 

Redfrog

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Did Zidane turn down Newca$tle and Spurs? If he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, surely they approached him? I haven't read anything about it either way.
Do you think they would have snobbed him ? Not a chance. Only his image will be a big boost for both of them !
 

romufc

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Did Zidane turn down Newca$tle and Spurs? If he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, surely they approached him? I haven't read anything about it either way.
He isn't going to go to a team that is in the relegation zone. It was said that he didn't want to manage in the PL anyway.
 

Bebestation

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He has tactical preferences that are quite obvious, he puts an emphasis on using the entire width of the field, controlling the tempo of the game and crowding the box when the ball reach the final third. Real Madrid did these things with several setups and possession ratios but they did it consistently. To me Zidane is more in the SAF/Heynckes wavelength.
Is this what led to the crossing and bicycle kick goals that I used to love from Bale and Ronaldo?
Using the width and crowding the box?
 

JPRouve

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Is this what led to the crossing and bicycle kick goals that I used to love from Bale and Ronaldo?
Using the width and crowding the box?
Kind of, all three attackers are in the middle of the box and they can attack any area. Marcelo could have picked the first, second post or the middle, he had someone ready to go for the ball.

 

DutchCruijff

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Juve makes little sense at this moment in time.

He could have joined in the summer of '18 when there were already rumblings of Allegri leaving but he didn't.

He could have joined in the summer of '19 when Sarri joined but he didn't and opted for a return to Madrid.

He could have joined in the summer of '21 when Allegri was re-appointed but, again, hasn't opted for them.

I can only presume that he's either taking a break, and enjoying it, or he's looking to take over France next year.
 

Jam

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I honestly think he only “wants” to manage Madrid and then France.

I don’t think he has a great interest in being a career manager - the reason he hasn’t got a job is quite frankly he doesn’t want one.

Not to say he won’t change his mind or anything but as things stand he’s more than happy to just have time off, manage France, and then either fully retire from top level front facing football or reassess what he wants to do.
 

DutchCruijff

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I honestly think he only “wants” to manage Madrid and then France.

I don’t think he has a great interest in being a career manager - the reason he hasn’t got a job is quite frankly he doesn’t want one.

Not to say he won’t change his mind or anything but as things stand he’s more than happy to just have time off, manage France, and then either fully retire from top level front facing football or reassess what he wants to do.
He'll manage Juventus, for sure. He has quite the affection for Juventus.

He'll manage Madrid again too.

I think he will manage in the Premier League but not in the near future IMO. He'll catch the coaching bug.
 

Bebestation

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Obviously it's just paper talk but you wonder if Pogba and VDB being potential Madrid transfers at one point might bring an interest in Zidane here.

Doubt football is that simple but who knows.
 

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It confuses me if he really isn't interested in the job. Surely the elite managers have some ambition of managing in the premier league? It's the highest profile league with the biggest resources, the United job must be an attractive one with the money we spend.

Is his English that bad?
 

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Neither muddling proactively for a job nor participating in the punditry circus? He is a smart a*s for sure!
 

iHicksy

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He must be waiting for the france job or else we haven't sounded him out. I can't imagine a squad he'd like to manager more if you believe the papers about his transfers targets etc.

Ronaldo, Varane, Pogba. Three of his favorite players and then they likes of Sancho and Bruno were they were looking at whilst he was there. And the rest of the squad brimming with talent.
 

Daydreamer

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The bias is that when people want tactical managers, they want tactical novelty. It's a very start-up mentality: we need to innovate full backs.
This made me laugh out loud.

It's also really true. I think is also desire for noticeable tactical novelty. I see it a lot in the entertainment industry. I swear the reason audiences and critics go nuts over biopics is because with a real life person for comparison they can see the acting. Whereas the subtle tactical work obviously required at some point to win 3 Champions Leagues and 2 La Ligas* are less satisfying.

*Unless you subscribe to the view that you can fluke achievements that are literally unprecedented in the history of football coaching
 
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Idxomer

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Neither muddling proactively for a job nor participating in the punditry circus? He is a smart a*s for sure!
Definitely has been one of the most intelligent people in football for the last 25 years.

If he takes the job, it would mean he believes he could challenge for the league and CL.
 

UnrelatedPsuedo

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It confuses me if he really isn't interested in the job. Surely the elite managers have some ambition of managing in the premier league? It's the highest profile league with the biggest resources, the United job must be an attractive one with the money we spend.

Is his English that bad?
No, but England is.
 

Dominos

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These are different people, what applies to them isn't going to apply to everyone.
Fair enough if he thinks England is a shithole, do we know if that is actually what's going on though? Any reason is a good enough reason, he doesn't have to justify not wanting to come here as it's simply his decision. It would be interesting to find out why he's not interested in the most high profile league in the world though, as most of the elite jump at the opportunity.
 

JPRouve

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Fair enough if he thinks England is a shithole, do we know if that is actually what's going on though? Any reason is a good enough reason, he doesn't have to justify not wanting to come here as it's simply his decision. It would be interesting to find out why he's not interested in the most high profile league in the world though, as most of the elite jump at the opportunity.
No one knows what he thinks outside of himself and it's currently not a fact that he doesn't want to manage in England.
 

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Fair enough if he thinks England is a shithole, do we know if that is actually what's going on though? Any reason is a good enough reason, he doesn't have to justify not wanting to come here as it's simply his decision. It would be interesting to find out why he's not interested in the most high profile league in the world though, as most of the elite jump at the opportunity.
Yeah, that's what I was trying to bring up. Two big job openings in the best league in the world (tm), and one of them with an unlimited kitty. It will be interesting to see what Zidane comes up with in his next gig, if he was fortunate with his players being great, or if he actually has the tactical acumen to build the best machine with the parts available.
 

marktan

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I think it's more of a case of us not wanting him, than vice versa. He's a huge question mark in footballing management, because you have no idea how he'd do with a team that isn't already a top team. Can he build a team with good signings? Can he get them playing good football? Can he coach a team that he isn't a legend at / hasn't been a part of the coaching staff for 5+ years prior? His second stint at Madrid didn't help answer any of those questions.

Yeah he did win 3 CLs, but that Real team had a world class player in every single position, and some with a shout to being the greatest ever in that position. I doubt Real will see a similar calibre team in the next 50 years.
 

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Surely if Zidane fancied it he'd be here already. I like him, and surely the players we have right now would too, but it looks unlikely.

ETH or bust.
 

the_cliff

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I think it's more of a case of us not wanting him, than vice versa. He's a huge question mark in footballing management, because you have no idea how he'd do with a team that isn't already a top team. Can he build a team with good signings? Can he get them playing good football? Can he coach a team that he isn't a legend at / hasn't been a part of the coaching staff for 5+ years prior? His second stint at Madrid didn't help answer any of those questions.

Yeah he did win 3 CLs, but that Real team had a world class player in every single position, and some with a shout to being the greatest ever in that position. I doubt Real will see a similar calibre team in the next 50 years.
I'm really tired of this argument tbh, Pelligrini, Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho had the same squad. Barcelona possibly had the greatest Team in football history and Pep couldn't win 2 in a row never mind 3.

You can get lucky once (Di Matteo), but if you think he won 3 UCLs in a row because he had a top team and was lucky name me another modern manager that has had a top team and won 2 in a row ? Bayern didn't manage it, Barcelona didn't manage it, we got close with Fergie (we also had possibly our greatest team of all time those years as well). If you think that Zidane just told those Madrid players go out lads and have fun and won 3 UCLs idk what to say :lol: :lol:

God help every manager in the world If winning 2 leagues and 3 UCLS in 5 years is considered a huge question mark in football management.
 

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I'm really tired of this argument tbh, Pelligrini, Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho had the same squad. Barcelona possibly had the greatest Team in football history and Pep couldn't win 2 in a row never mind 3.

You can get lucky once (Di Matteo), but if you think he won 3 UCLs in a row because he had a top team and was lucky name me another modern manager that has had a top team and won 2 in a row ? Bayern didn't manage it, Barcelona didn't manage it, we got close with Fergie (we also had possibly our greatest team of all time those years as well). If you think that Zidane just told those Madrid players go out lads and have fun and won 3 UCLs idk what to say :lol: :lol:

God help every manager in the world If winning 2 leagues and 3 UCLS in 5 years is considered a huge question mark in football management.
Yeah it's a tired argument that gets blown over by the most basic questioning. Real had a great squad at that time but it wasn't like it was a walkover.
 

Cloud7

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Yeah it's a tired argument that gets blown over by the most basic questioning. Real had a great squad at that time but it wasn't like it was a walkover.
Crazy isn't it? Sir Alex had great squads. Pep had great squads. Mourinho (of the past) had great squads. Klopp had great squads. Wenger had great squads. None of them ever did what Zidane did. I don't understand how "he had a great squad" can be used to discredit him when managers with other great squads have fallen short of what Zidane achieved.
 

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I'm really tired of this argument tbh, Pelligrini, Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho had the same squad. Barcelona possibly had the greatest Team in football history and Pep couldn't win 2 in a row never mind 3.

You can get lucky once (Di Matteo), but if you think he won 3 UCLs in a row because he had a top team and was lucky name me another modern manager that has had a top team and won 2 in a row ? Bayern didn't manage it, Barcelona didn't manage it, we got close with Fergie (we also had possibly our greatest team of all time those years as well). If you think that Zidane just told those Madrid players go out lads and have fun and won 3 UCLs idk what to say :lol: :lol:

God help every manager in the world If winning 2 leagues and 3 UCLS in 5 years is considered a huge question mark in football management.
Zidane always got this type of criticism.
Whether as a player or manager.
It is weird tbh. When he was a player, people have almost build a myth that he was never had a good season, only few great games in big games, and rest of the times he was a passenger.

Now as a coach, he is again a passenger.

It is like some people just hate his gut and success :lol: .

He has won everything there is to win, while playing a big role in them, yet he is somehow lucky either as a player or manager.

Plus it is the EPL bias or this ridiculous Maradona syndrome which some of these media outlet throw.

Oh you must perform with bunch of farmers or else you are not good enough. Which led to the likes of Potter, Howe and other hippies getting overrated.
 

roonster09

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Great squads doesn't even mean an easy job.
Also I don't see why having good/great squad is used against the manager. It's not like he won some easy league title. He won La liga competing against Barca and Atletico, won CL beating some great teams.
 

ThatsGreat

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He's obviously waiting for the Arsenal job to open up.
 

Iker Quesadillas

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Fair enough if he thinks England is a shithole, do we know if that is actually what's going on though? Any reason is a good enough reason, he doesn't have to justify not wanting to come here as it's simply his decision. It would be interesting to find out why he's not interested in the most high profile league in the world though, as most of the elite jump at the opportunity.
Probably just personal reasons. He's been living in Madrid for almost twenty years. Three of his children live and play football in Madrid (one for Rayo Vallecano, the other two for RM Castilla and U-17). Makes sense not to move too far away. That's why the NT job is appealing.

He's also surely much wealthier than Klopp, Tuchel, et al. and doesn't actually need to do anything.
 

Iker Quesadillas

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I'm really tired of this argument tbh, Pelligrini, Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho had the same squad.
I don't agree at all with the whole "Zidane just had a great squad" thing (nobody at the time was actually predicting RM would win lots of CLs with this team). But it's not really true that these managers had the same squad. Mourinho built his own team, and then once he left there was a quick transition out of it. Lots of the 4-CL winning players had limited involvement previously (Modric, Varane, Casemiro), were bought the season of the 10th CL, (Isco, Carvajal, Bale), or afterwards (Kroos, Navas).

What gets lost here sometimes is that Zidane has a good league record. He won 2 out of 4 league titles in which he managed for the whole season. He was on the race until the last game in one of the 2 he didn't win. This is the best league record any Real Madrid manager has had in like 20 years.
 
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TheLiverBird

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Probably just personal reasons. He's been living in Madrid for almost twenty years. Three of his children live and play football in Madrid (one for Rayo Vallecano, the other two for RM Castilla and U-17). Makes sense not to move too far away. That's why the NT job is appealing.

He's also surely much wealthier than Klopp, Tuchel, et al. and doesn't actually need to do anything.
This is very true

He’s won everything as a player and manager and at the best Clubs in the world. Managing Utd isn’t exactly a step up for him like it normally would be for most other managers. Not saying it would be a step down either but after achieving what he’s achieved, too move to a country where he doesn’t speak the language and that has an awful media, for a Club that isn’t on the “Ooooo” scale for him because he’s been there and done it, is hardly worth leaving or upheaving his family for, it’s a challenge he doesn’t need nor by the looks of it with the lack of interest…wants.

He’s got an ego Zidane too so considering all the above I wouldn’t put it past him not being fussed about the Utd job if it were available.

Personally I think he could be just what United need if he was fully willing to commit but seemingly there is no interest thus far.