Return of the King
Zinedine Zidane’s return to the throne at Real Madrid shocked the footballing world on Monday afternoon, as the club resorted to rehiring the man who had resigned just 10 months prior.
The club’s turgid form this season has left them third in LaLiga and knocked out of both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League as early as the round of 16.
Julen Lopetegui and Santi Solari made valiant attempts at steering a rocky ship, but were ultimately made to walk the plank as club president Florentino Perez pleaded with Zidane to come back.
The Frenchman, who won three consecutive Champions League trophies with Real Madrid in his first stint at the club – also his first ever senior managerial job – faced the press on Monday evening, revealing that he was “happy to be home.”
During the press conference, Zidane revealed that he received and rejected several job offers from other clubs during his time off.
“I had several proposals, but I did not want to leave to other teams , I want to be here,” Zidane told the room, refusing to disclose which clubs might have approached him.
One would suspect one club may have been Manchester United, during the latter stages of José Mourinho’s reign, when the toxicity at Old Trafford was at breaking point.
As it turned out, United hired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, which has turned out to be quite a decent decision from the board, for the short term at least.
Other clubs that could have approached Zidane could include Chelsea, who looked likely to sack Maurizio Sarri after goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga showed unprecedented levels of insubordination by refusing to be subbed off during the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City.
But Sarri remains in the Chelsea dugout, while the fans sing ‘Fuck Sarriball’ – a loveless marriage that will surely file for divorce come May.
Zidane repeatedly asserted that his focus is on the 11 remaining games of this season, and that he will then begin to think about potential signings and the like in the summer.
When asked about senior players who had lost their place in the team under Solari – Gareth Bale, Isco, Marcelo – Zidane said: “I’m back with some players who have won a lot, I’m not going to get involved in what happened between them, I want to go back to them, work and do things well already this Saturday.”
