REAL MADRID
Zidane copies Ronaldo rotation template from last season
Zidane has given Ronaldo a new lease on life and the Portuguese attacker is reaping the rewards with 23 goals in his last twelve games.
Since Zindaine Zidane arrived on the bench at Real Madrid, a little over two years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of 31 games - 17 without injury or suspension. In the five and a half years before Zidane's arrival with three different managers (Mourinho, Ancelotti and Benitez) he missed out on 33 games with 15 being managerial decision.
Zizou has copied the last season's rotation template for Ronaldo this season, and at 33 years ago, the results are evident. Last season, he scored 10 goals between the quarter-final and the final of the Champions League and this season, he has scored 23 goals in his last 12 games. When you compare that to previous campaigns such as the Champions League finals in Lisbon and Milan in 2014 and 2016, he arrived there exhausted.
Zidane has tried to protect Ronaldo and has asked him to trust his expertise in order to prolong his career. This season, he has played in 36 games, which is nine less than Messi, who is two and a half years younger. The performance of both is similar with the pair contributing between 31 and 32 percent of their team's goals. The Portuguese has scored three more than the Argentine too.
Cristiano did not play in the first give games of the season due to suspension and in the six games Real Madrid played in the Copa del Rey along with the three away games in the league between February and March. Valverde has not been able to do the same with Messi, however, and he has just missed three games in the Copa and one against Malaga in LaLiga recently.
Raphael Fevre, PSG's physical trainer, who is friends with Antonio Pintus, who fills the same role at Real Madrid, confirmed recently in an interview with L'Equipe that Ronaldo has his own training plan. "They asked him to calm down because he is addicted to work.
| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
|---|
| Upcoming matches |
|---|
