Zidane's Grand 'stadium' Slam
The French coach is relatively new to management but at the helm for Real Madrid has already chalked off victories at most of the major stadia he has visited. Six have stood firm.
Zinedine Zidane added the Juventus Stadium to his list of the elite venues where he has been victorious as a coach. Already in his short tenure in the dugout, the Frenchman has a gold-standard album of stadiums where he has won since taking over the reins at Real Madrid.
Stadio Olímpico (0-2, 17/02/2016)
Just a month and a half after taking on the challenge of managing Real Madrid, his first Champions League tie came against Roma. A first leg lead was a positive step to progression with goals from Cristiano and Jesé.
Camp Nou (1-2, 02/04/2016)
The Camp Nou Clásico test was dealt with on Zidane's first visit. A 1-2 win with goals from Benzema and Cristiano cemented a positive feeling from the Madridistas. He also emerged victorious from his most recent visit: 1-3 in the first leg of the Spanish Supercup ahead of the season proper. Piqué, Cristiano (is there a theme building here?) and Asensio with the goals.
San Siro (Final Champions, 28/05/2016)
It may not have been against any Milan team and the 90 minutes did not end in victory, but Zidane's side prevailed in the penalty shoot-out against neighbours Atletico Madrid and lifted the new manager's first Champions League trophy, the eleventh European Cup for Real Madrid.
Vicente Calderón (0-3, 19/11/2016)
Although he had lost his first local derby against Atlético, at the Santiago Bernabéu, he redeemed himself on his first visit to the Manzanares thanks to a Cristiano hat-trick and a footballing exhibition from Isco. The new Wanda Metropolitan stadium is on the pending list after this seasons 0-0.
San Paolo (1-3, 07/03/2017)
The stadium that cheered the skills of Maradona in the 80s and early 90s succumbed to Madrid in the Last 16 of the Champions League, another step towards La Duodécima, the 12th. Ramos, a Mertens own goal and Morata completed an impressive comeback after Mertens had opened the scoring for Napoli.
San Mamés (1-2, 18/03/2017)
Eleven days after the win in Naples, Benzema and Casemiro handed the victory to Los Blancos in the legendary battle against Athletic Bilbao.
Allianz Arena (1-2, 12/04/2017)
There was a time when travelling to Bavaria was for Real Madrid like visiting the ogre's home. That changed the year of La Décima, when Zidane was assistant to Ancelotti, and the Frenchman repeated the victory following his appointment as number one. A Cristiano double did the trick.
Millenium Stadium (Final Champions, 03/06/2017)
The venue that was home to matches of the Wales rugby and football team, as well as covering for Wembley when it was being refurbished, witnessed the La Duodécima with a convincing 1-4 triumph over Juventus. Cristiano scored a brace with Casemiro and Benzema completing the rout.
Westfalenstadion (1-3, 26/09/2017)
The legendary Borussia Dortmund Wall of yellow withstood the first Madrid attack of their home in the 2016-17 group stage, but Gareth Bale and a double for from Cristiano knocked them out this season.
Parc des Princes (1-2, 06/03/2018)
The hostile environment didn't intimidate Real Madrid, who were already leading from the first leg. PSG's mega-money project fell once again with goals from Cristiano and Casemiro.
Juventus Stadium (0-3, 03/04/2018)
The new stadium of Serie A giants Juventus had resisted the previous two visits from Real Madrid. On this occasion, though, they were dominated across the field with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two and Brazilian defender Marcelo getting himsefl onto the scoresheet. The second for Cristiano will long live in the memory.
Six still holding out
Of all the stadia that Zidane has visited as the Real Madrid manager, there are six where here has not tasted victory. These are: Volkswagen Arena, Etihad Stadium, Montilivi, Wembley, Wanda Metropolitano and Sánchez Pizjuán. The home of Sevilla is the only one of these that Zidane has failed to win on two occasions. How long before they all fall?
