The test of Zinedine Zidane’s credentials start now

Zinedine Zidane’s record as a senior coach is pretty intimidating. In just over a year at Real Madrid, he has won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup, while also amassing a Spanish record of 40 games undefeated.

Yet, truth be told, whether Zidane is a particularly good *coach* is still open to debate.

The former world player of the year stepped into the breach with Real Madrid in a state of self-imposed snafu following the dismissal of Rafael Benitez.

Real had topped their Champions League group and were four points shy of league leaders Atletico when they jettisoned the former Valencia, Liverpool and Inter Milan coach. Benitez’s impersonal micro-management had, according to numerous reports, left some Real stars disaffected.

Zidane inherited a highly talented yet discontented collection of players, which included plenty of egos. Perhaps it was ego that left some players unable to be coached by Benitez, a man with a modest playing career. Perhaps not.

There is no doubt that Madrid’s performances spiked after the Frenchman’s appointment. They finished one point behind Barcelona in Liga, and won the Champions League. They were already out of the Copa del Rey following some sloppy admin during Benitez’s reign. His appointment represented an unmitigated success.

Yet, the merits of his actual coaching are still open to debate. He barely tore up any trees during his brief tenure at Real Madrid Castilla, with Madrid’s reserve team finishing a disappointing sixth out of 20 teams in the third tier of Spanish football.

How then has Zidane contributed to Madrid’s success this last year? Perhaps, his aura as an elite level footballer gives him certain privileges that were not afforded to Benitez. It would certainly make sense that players of a certain ilk might be less willing to take orders from a manager whose playing career lacked the depth of Zidane’s.

Furthermore, the parallels between Chelsea’s Champions League win and Madrid’s last year are well placed. A placated, more harmonious dressing room bursting with talent using pure force of will to claim Europe’s top prize. Not to mention a pretty favourable draw that included a quarter-final against Wolfsburg, who would end the season eighth in the Bundesliga, and a semi-final against an utterly abject Manchester City.

Zidane, it could be said, has taken on the role of manager – one of a rarefied few able to simultaneously contain and massage the egos of a notoriously politicised changing room. A changing room that unsettled and then unseated Jose Mourinho. Zidane’s coaching has been of less importance - until now.

This is no slight on Zidane. Sir Alex Ferguson was without doubt a manager first and a coach second. In fact, Fergie’s most successful periods were underwritten by an exceptional number two. From Brian Kidd to Steve McClaren to Carlos Queiroz through to Mike Phelan, Ferguson had an assistant who bore a large responsibility for coaching not only on the training field but also on matchday.

Fergie made sure his players were ready to play; his plethora of coaches made sure they knew how to play.

A perfect storm of circumstance allowed Zidane to ride the crest of a wave of success. Again that is no criticism, he came in lifted morale and there was a substantial performance spike. However, as was always likely to be the case, there has been a drop in performance levels and results.

Twice in the space of a week they have had to come from behind to salvage points first against Villarreal and then Las Palmas. On both occasions, Zidane was slow to react and subbed late. Madrid’s quality saw them claim all three points against Villarreal and a solitary point against Las Palmas. The sample size is too small to say whether Zidane has the tactical and coaching acumen to address any sustained slide in performance.

Zidane’s assistants David Bettoni and Hamidou Msaidie have some experience but are hardly revered. It was reported that Bettoni did not have a UEFA Pro Licence upon his appointment while Msaidie specialises in conditioning. Put simply, if Zidane is short of answers, he has limited know-how to lean on.

He has proven himself a fine man-manager and motivator but it is his credentials as a coach that will come under further examination as the peaks and troughs – that up until now he has managed to avoid - of a season kick in.

We will know a lot more about Zidane the coach in the coming months.