Zinedine Zidane's first year as Real Madrid boss: what worked, what didn't

On Jan. 4 2016, Florentino Perez announced that Rafael Benitez would no longer be Real Madrid’s coach. The following day, the president introduced Zinedine Zidane as the squad’s new manager.

At first, it did look as though Perez had rushed things by throwing the inexperienced Zidane on the Santiago Bernabeu bench. Few thought that 51 weeks later, the team would find themselves where they are right now: proud winners of another Champions League title, leading La Liga with a three-point cushion and a match in hand over Barcelona and surviving in both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

But the results don’t tell the full story. The French manager has recovered a group that looked disjointed under Benitez, a group that now seems to relished challenges and big matches. And so it feels like the right time to evaluate Zidane’s first calendar year as Real Madrid coach, focusing on the many things that worked and the few that did not.

What worked

Not too much tactics talk: Players suffered under Benitez’s obsessive attention to detail and micromanagement. Zidane has surprised strategists as apt as Diego Simeone with unexpected line-ups or in-game adjustments, but the Frenchman mainly trusts his players and avoids overwhelming them with instructions. When you have tacticians like Luka Modric or Toni Kroos on the pitch, it’s probably the right approach.

Constant focus on intensity and physical effort: Zidane’s rationale is simple. This squad has more talent than most teams in Spain or Europe, so the only way they could lose a match is if they don’t work hard enough on the pitch. He rarely discusses tactics in press conferences but constantly goes on about the level of effort the team as a whole or one specific player. The message to the squad is clear and consistent: run or you will be benched.

Motivation of starters and bench players alike: The biggest challenge of every top-level manager is dealing with the egos of 23 successful players who tend to feel entitled to start in every single match. Zidane’s ability to keep most of them involved — whether taking advantage of the shocking amount of injuries the squad has suffered, or convincing starters to rest in specific matches — has actually generated a genuine problem of having too many players with a legitimate claim to start.

The team delivered in big matches: With the exception of the home defeat to Atletico de Madrid six weeks after Zidane took over, the Madridistas are undefeated against their two big domestic rivals and have been able to win every single deciding match in knockout competitions. This is probably an outcome of the previous three positive aspects of Zidane’s tenure so far. If you keep a highly talented squad in physical shape and motivated to play, giving them a decent amount of direction, good things will happen and they will thrive in the big occasions. Easier said than done, of course.

What needs to improve

Concentration in specific matches: During a radio interview with his friend Christoph Dugarry two months ago, Zidane recognised that at times his team had started matches without the required focus. This lack of concentration was not only obvious in their three consecutive La Liga draws in late September against Villarreal, Las Palmas and Eibar, but also in a few Champions League matches. The combination of youth (Casemiro, Daniel Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, etc.) and a certain feeling of superiority over the opposition is dangerous. Zidane clearly still has work to do on this front.

James Rodriguez: for whatever reason, Zidane’s magic has not worked on James. It takes two to tango and the Colombian is not the easiest player to keep happy on the bench, but he does add a touch of direct-ness to the side that other players lack. The current squad configuration doesn’t make it easy to find minutes for James but if Zidane can keep him involved, he could be key in specific moments during the second half of the season.

Eduardo Alvarez covers Real Madrid and the Spanish national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @alvarez.