XtraTime Web Desk: The towering influence of Zinedine Zidane on the bench proved to be a vital cog in Real Madrid winning its 34th La Liga title. The Frenchman now has won his11th trophy in 209 matches as coach of Los Blancos, making him the fifth most successful in the club history. Zidane is just three trophies behind Miguel Munoz’s record haul and has been in charge for 10 season’s less.
The Frenchman since returning to the job last season, took the team to success despite the absence of Ronaldo. It was quite a turnaround for the club from Madrid, winning all the 10 matches so far since the La Liga restart.
Since his return as coach on March 12, 2019 Zidane set his focus straight on winning the La Liga title. He did taste success winning the Champions League two years ago against Liverpool in Kiev. But the French tactician saw it as a failure as the club finished the league campaign in third place and some 17 points adrift of Barcelona. It’s for this reason that his complete focus has been on winning the league title this season. Zidane outlined his ambitions straight away last year. He sent a strong message to all the stakeholders of the club.
“Next season our priority will be to win the league,” he said.
He added, “I can’t say that we’ll definitely win it, but we’ll compete right until the end.”
The first thing he did was to persist with a settled combination, leaving aside too much rotation. And it worked wonders, as the Los Blancos conceded only 21 goals this season compared to 41 and 44 in last couple of seasons.
A major reason why Real Madrid has maintained their title challenge has been how solid they’ve been this season. Guided by Zidane from the dugout, Sergio Ramos in defence and Karim Benzema from the front, Real Madrid proved successful in regaining the trophy from Barcelona, first time in three years.
Another Frenchman has played a huge part in Real Madrid achieving the success this season. Karim Benzema has been a livewire in the upfront for Madrid this season. The French international has blossomed since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Benzema is the second goal scorer in the La Liga this season with 21 goals, two behind Lionel Messi. A lot of credit for the LaLiga Santander triumph has to fall at his feet.
With LaLiga Santander in the bag, attention now turns to the second leg against Manchester City in the Champions League.