“This is the right moment for everyone, it might seem a bit strange, but it had to
be done for the good of everyone, the players, the club, and myself. This team
must keep winning, and it needs a change after three years, another voice,
another method of working”, Zidane said after enjoying a hugely successful spell
as the manager of Real Madrid, winning 3 consecutive UEFA Champions League,
2 Club World Cups, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 1 La Liga title and 1 Spanish Super Cup.
Julen Lopetegui (then Spanish coach) was announced as the next manager of Real Madrid and was consequently sacked by the Spanish Football Federation as the RFEF president, Luis Rubiales, claimed to have found out only five minutes before
the appointment was made public and two days before the World Cup kicked off in Russia. Soon after, Juventus came knocking at Real’s door and Cristiano Ronaldo
joined them in the most eye-catching transfer of the summer window. Lopetegui was entrusted with the job of overseeing the transition of the club as their stalwart, their main man and their hero left. Everybody was expecting Real to go out there,
splash the cash and get a superstar signing, but Lopetegui had other ideas in mind.
He invested in youth and bought an 18-year old winger Vinicius Jr. (largely unheard of), a 23-year old fullback Odriozola and the golden glove winner of the recently concluded World Cup, Thibaut Courtois. The prestigious No. 7 jersey was given to Mariano Diaz. In the absence of Ronaldo, there was added pressure on the likes of Bale, Benzema, Modric and Isco. The new kids will definitely need time settling in and it was up to the experienced Sergio Ramos and the World Cup
winner Raphale Varane to keep things right at the back. Another concern for Real was the ageing Marcelo in the left back position. Over the last few months, age seems to have caught up with him and with the prevailing injuries, he has struggled
to put in performances on a regular basis, something which had made him the best player in his position in the last few years.
The job was cut out for Lopetegui and his favoritism for Spanish players was well known among his compatriots. It is them who backed the likes of Isco and Lucas Vasquez to really shine under Lopetegui. Unfortunately, things didn’t go according to expectations for the Real Madrid manager. A series of defeats in matches they were expected to win put Lopetegui’s job on the line. Add to it, the dismal performances of Gareth Bale, a tired Luka Modric after the World Cup and Marcelo. The big stars were not being able to grab the limelight. And Real Madrid was disappearing fast. The fear of the Madrid fans was turning into reality: “We cannot win without Ronaldo.” The 5-1 defeat to Barcelona at Nou Camp came as the final nail in the coffin for Lopetegui and the Spaniard was sacked.
In comes Santiago Solari, who had been at the managerial duty of Real Madrid Castilla since 2016. He replaced Lopetegui officially 14 days later as no club in Spain was allowed to have a caretaker manager for more than two weeks. Solari had been a former player at Real Madrid and started his managerial stint with
Madrid’s youths in 2013. He had a tough job at hand. Firstly, at a club like Real Madrid you’re expected to win everything that comes your way. Secondly, Real Madrid was languishing at 9th place in the league table, a very unfamiliar position
for the Los Blancos. Then there was the increasing frustration among the fans which highlighted itself in the average home attendance at the Santiago Bernabeu dropping drastically. The only silver lining in the cloud was that Solari knew the
club right from it’s grassroots and the youth system very well. Right from his appointment at Real Madrid, he has always been positive about what Real Madrid could and will achieve at the end of the season despite the challenges on and off the pitch in that prevalent scenario.
Solari, almost immediately addressed the problems at their defence which was the main worry of Madrid under Lopetegui. Lopetegui had to deal with a lot of injuries but that is all a part and parcel of the game. With Ramos and Varane looking indispensable for Real Madrid, the problem was who should be playing in the right-back and left back positions. With Marcelo and Carvajal suffering from injuries, Reguilon and Odriozola took their places respectively. With now Carvajal fit again, he’s playing well in right-back as he used to be but Reguilon seems to have almost cemented his place in left-back ahead of Marcelo. Defensive organization of Santiago Solari seems to be working well as any defensive midfielder like Casemiro does not get caught out of position and even Ramos does not have the freedom to go forward at will, helping in keeping clean sheets and boosting their defensive records. Solari, having worked with Castilla, shows immense amounts of faith in younger talents like Vinicius Jr. who has gradually made his way into the starting XI ahead of Gareth Bale. With a relatively young forward line of Vinicius Jr. and Vazquez, Benzema is finding the back of the net more often than not and is flourishing as a centre forward. With the ever dependable attacking midfield duo of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric , it only helps
Solari in playing a more demanding and fast, counter-attacking style of football.
It has been a huge turnaround for Real Madrid. From hanging midway down the table after the El Clasico hammering during October to beating Atletico Madrid 3-1 away at Wanda Metropolitano, it’s heartening for Real Madrid fans to see the current scenario of their club, who were dreading a disastrous season after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zidane. Real Madrid are currently sitting in 2nd position, 6 points behind league leaders Barcelona and they surely are very much
in the race of the La Liga title. It would be foolish to write them off.They alsoseem to be hitting their peak form as a team with winning 2-1 away at Ajax in the Champions League. Real, sure will be looking to retain the Champions League title
again as they have been doing for the last three years. And as they say, the game is not over until the final whistle is blown. Certainly, so.
– Chirag Somaddar and Sayan Chakraborti
The Sport Catalogue 