The philosophy of Zinedine Zidane
Last night, Zidane started the game with 7 changes in the derby lineup, and these changes appeared especially in the defense line that changed completely, except Sergio Ramos.
What appeared last night is that Zidane’s football philosophy needs elements that are inevitable. In case those elements are lost, Zidane cannot apply his philosophy. What that means is that Zidane’s philosophy is difficult for players and needs a specific type of players to succeed with the requirements of that philosophy.
The offensive full backs need a centre back that dominates the spaces and in the absence of Ramos, the defense of Madrid is lost, and even in the presence of Ramos , the defense is not at its peak and this is what was proven yesterday in the presence of Marcelo and in Mendy’s absence.
Another example is Toni Kroos, who needs someone to protect him in the middle of the field , and with Casemiro’s absence, Kroos gets tired of applying his idea.
Therefore, it is difficult for any player to succeed in Madrid, especially Zidane’s Madrid, and it is difficult for Madrid to succeed with any player. The rule in Madrid is clear and fixed : to succeed in Madrid you have to be exceptional and for Madrid to succeed it must have an exceptional team. Zidane’s system, like the square, ruins if one side is missing.
Author: Youssef Abdelrahman y Mohamed Ziad
Photo: Javier Soriano / Getty Images
