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Recent defeats to Cádiz and Shakhtar Donetsk have undermined the Real Madrid hierarchy’s confidence in Zinedine Zidane.
Before the loss to Shakhtar Donetsk, the message from the Real Madrid leaders was reassuring: “The position of Zinedine Zidane is not in doubt. What happened against Cádiz was an accident. We have faith in our coach ”. However, at halftime on Wednesday, with Madrid down 3-0 to Shakhtar, their phones were ringing non-stop.
The club’s president, Florentino Pérez, remains convinced that Zidane is the man to manage a changing room as varied and ego-laden as Madrid’s, but the traumatic defeats suffered first against Cádiz and now against Shakhtar have served to wear down part of the confidence of the hierarchy in the head. coach.
Zidane can remedy this with a strong result in Barcelona on Saturday, coupled with a performance that gives a disgruntled fan base cause for renewed optimism.
Real Madrid cannot afford an early exit from the Champions League
Since the questionable decision to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus in 2018, Madrid have not made it past the knockout stages of the Champions League two years in a row and now, after falling at home to the weakest side of the group on paper, they I have work to do to avoid the embarrassment of not even reaching the knockout stages.
This was not the plan. With economic losses of more than 190 million euros due to the absence of fans in the stadiums due to the coronavirus pandemic, an early exit from the Champions League would be an added blow that the club does not want to contemplate.
Zidane can rightly argue that in his short time as a manager he has racked up no less than 11 trophies, including three consecutive Champions League titles. But in Madrid the only thing that matters is the present, and things are not going well now.
Zidane gave his blessing to the departure of two of the best wingers in Europe in Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Reguilón, he has no space in his squad for a Spain international in Dani Ceballos and asked for the signing of Luka Jovic, the worst 60 million. Madrid in years. “I must be doing something wrong,” ‘Zizou’ himself said after the game on Wednesday.
Third loss in a row would sound the real alarms
The club bosses will transmit a message of calm and support to the French between now and the weekend so as not to interrupt the preparations for the Classic, but if Madrid falls to a third consecutive defeat, against their eternal rivals, the situation would be directed into dangerous territory .
On social media, the debate about Zidane is already heating up. Mauricio Pochettino, who is available, became a trending topic on Twitter after Shakhtar’s defeat and the name of Raúl González was also widely mentioned, an internal solution since he is currently in charge of Castilla, the club’s ‘B’. .
Only Zidane can reverse this situation, by establishing himself in a regular team that shows recognizable exhibits, does not exhibit the weaknesses shown in the last four days against theoretically inferior opponents and regains some respect. The stakes will be high at 16:00 CEST on Saturday …
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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