REAL MADRID
Real Madrid fans pass judgement on Zinedine Zidane
In a survey undertaken by AS following Los Blancos' recent defeat to third-tier Alcoyano, more than 65,000 readers gave their view on the French coach.
Real Madrid's season is concerning many fans. Their elimination in the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao left supporters wondering what was going on, given the general form of late. And worse, much worse, was to follow with the historic defeat in the Copa del Rey against Alcoyano. A Segunda B team, playing for a while with ten men, gave a knockout blow for Los Blancos' chances of silverware. This has angered some Madridistas, who are calling on changes in the dugout to get things on the pitch back on track.
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Zidane replacement desired by fan voters
The main target in all this has been Zinedine Zidane who, despite having earned much love with his Champions League triple, has an increasing number of detractors. This has been shown in the latest AS poll in which readers were asked whether he should continue as Madrid coach after the debacle in Alcoy. With 65,064 votes cast, the result shows that, for the majority of the fans, the Frenchman should go. This is how 59% voted, although it’s worth noting that a significant 41% want to give him more time. Either that or they are Barcelona and Atlético fans having some fun.
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This is the first time Zidane has experienced such a situation. There have been relative ‘crises’ before during his tenure but most of the blame in those situations has been directed towards players, either individually or collectively for their performances. For others, questions have been asked about Florentino Pérez and the board, wondering about their lack of investment or poor spending.
That said, there has also been a smaller group that has never fully been convinced of Zidane’s skills to get the best out of a set of players on a regular basis, despite the silverware collected.
Vote of confidence...for now
Putting his faith in the likes of Isco and Marcelo, and not reaping the rewards from the clear talents of Odegaard and Jovic, for example, have increased the doubts. Zidane still has time to find the improvements with the board giving him a vote of confidence and hopes are now focused on the Champions League, with LaLiga quickly drifting beyond his reach.
His job, then, appears to be in his own hands, but another embarrassing slip up and that could quickly change.