Is It Time For Zidane to Leave Real Madrid?

In football, it’s generally accepted that when things are going well, it’s not just the players who get the plaudits but the coach too.

Therefore, it must surely follow that when there are serious issues to address in terms of results and performance, the buck stops with the man on the bench.

Which leads to the curious question as to why Zinedine Zidane still has the unequivocal support of a Real Madrid president and board who aren’t known for the same if matters on the pitch aren’t up to scratch.

In 2017/18, the difference in Real Madrid from a year ago is remarkable.

When Los Blancos had battered Juventus in Cardiff to claim an unprecedented second successive Champions League trophy, they were being hailed as one of the best teams in history who would go on to dominate the European stage for years.

Fast forward to the present day, and they can’t buy a win.

Real Look Blunt In Attack 

Both Real Betis and Villarreal have gone to the Santiago Bernabeu and left with three points thanks to 1-0 victories. In both cases, the hosts have been caught out of position, on the attack and exposed at the back late on.

Betis hadn’t won in the Spanish capital for decades and yet became the first team to stop Real scoring in 74 games stretching back over 17 months.

When Villarreal managed to do the same – the Yellow Submarine’s first-ever win at the ground – it was the fourth time Zidane’s team had failed to score since the Betis result.

In both of those matches, Los Blancos had 29 shots across the ninety minutes, evidencing their striker’s wastefulness.

Indeed, their top scorers in the league – Ronaldo, Bale, Asensio and Isco – have just four goals each. FOUR! Even the much-maligned Barcelona midfielder, Paulinho, has more.

It’s not just an attacking issue of course. At times this season, Real have been woeful in defence, and not up to much in a genuinely world-class midfield.

Zidane’s Stubbornness Has To Stop

#FCBarcelona come from two goals down to win against their bogey team. ?

Real Madrid are now closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top of #LaLiga. ? pic.twitter.com/aKdhLG66Gf

— betvictor (@BetVictor) January 14, 2018

All of which brings us back to Zidane.

His stubbornness is threatening to derail Real Madrid’s campaign altogether.

He has shown an inability to change things for the better if things aren’t working out as well as expected, and even when he does decide to make changes, invariably they are too late to make a difference.

Where once he rotated well, and gave everyone decent minutes on the pitch, bringing with it associated confidence from individuals, now those same players, in particular Marco Asensio, look a shadow of themselves compared with 2016/17.

Rafa Benitez was sacked with five more points than Zidane has now, at about the same point of the year two seasons ago.

His glorious past with the club can only sustain the Frenchman for so long, and though it would be a huge decision to make, moving Zidane on has to be a consideration for Perez and his board now.

Real’s immediate future could depend on it.