Zinedine Zidane has earned long-term stay at Real Madrid helm

Zinedine Zidane has earned long-term stay at Real Madrid helm [ad_1]

Zinedine Zidane gushes over Real Madrid after their win over Atleti, and his gratitude for his involvement with the club.

Zinedine Zidane secured his place in the history books on Wednesday as Real Madrid saw off a spirited challenge from Atletico to reach the European Cup/Champions League final in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1959.

Real weathered a storm in the Calderon. Diego Simeone's side did not surrender lightly, but Isco's goal just before the break dampened any realistic chance of a famous comeback. As the heavens opened over the Spanish capital with seconds remaining on the clock, time was suspended on one era in Madrid as another grasped its hour with both hands.

Simeone and Atletico find themselves at a crossroads. The final grand European night at the Calderon ended in aggregate defeat and how many players from Wednesday's stage will remain next season is open to question. Simeone also may be wondering if a change of scenery is overdue before Atleti inaugurate the Wanda Metropolitano in August.

At the same moment, Zidane watched any lingering doubts over his reign washed away on the Calderon turf. The Frenchman is four games away from a league and European double, something last achieved at Real Madrid by Luis Antonio Carniglia in 1957-58. Seven points from the nine they have remaining in play will ensure Real a first Liga title in five years.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said this week that he would happily hand Maurizio Sarri a job for life after his first two seasons in charge at the San Paolo, suggesting he could become the club's Sir Alex Ferguson. Florentino Perez may be pondering a similar statement in an election year. The Real president probably will run unopposed again, but he can stave off dissent by endorsing Zidane as the man to extend this brief golden period into the next decade.

The Frenchman did not reach this point in his career by accident. The regeneration underway at the Bernabeu has been guided in part by Zidane, who was instrumental in securing Raphael Varane and last summer persuaded Marco Asensio that he had a future with the club. Both are two of the foundation stones on which Real's future will be built. Deals reportedly are in place for Atletico's on-loan Alaves sensation Theo Hernandez and highly rated Brazilian youngster Vinicius Junior.

Zinedine Zidane is four games away from a league and European double, which was last achieved at Real Madrid by Luis Antonio Carniglia in 1957-58.

The likes of Asensio, Casemiro, Lucas Vazquez and Mateo Kovacic already are assuming more responsibility and flourishing under a coach who encourages his charges to express themselves with the same freedom he did, rather than imposing doctrine in a playing system set in stone.

Zidane is a box office draw for any player. He probably would not claim to be a master tactician at this stage of his career, but he has the ability to mould what he has into a unit not greater than the sum of its parts but one playing to its combined strength. Other coaches may have dropped Keylor Navas earlier in the season or handed Karim Benzema a reduced role as the clamour for Alvaro Morata's inclusion reached fever pitch. Zidane kept the faith publicly and privately, and both players were instrumental in Wednesday's victory.

That is the Zidane effect: Not only has he been there and done it, with shirt retained, he is an excellent man-manager because of it. It is probably no coincidence that Zidane was at Carlo Ancelotti's side when Real won the Champions League in 2013-14. The Italian is in a select group of managers universally admired and respected by his peers and players alike. Zidane clearly has adopted his mentor's approach.

Last season's Champions League triumph will be annotated in history as half a Rafa Benitez trophy after the Spaniard led Real to the top of Group A, gifting Zidane a comfortable last-16 opponent in Rome. Zidane also profited in later draws, facing Wolfsburg and Manchester City before the final, whereas Atletico had to see off Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

This time around the achievement belongs to Zidane alone. Finishing behind Dortmund in the group stage led to a last-16 tie with Napoli. Bayern and Atletico paved about as tough a subsequent road to Cardiff as any.

Domestically Zidane has kept Real in the title race by using his entire squad to good effect. No manager at the Bernabeu since Carniglia has succeeded in balancing the demands of league and continental football in a single season, and the European Cup was considerably less demanding 60 years ago.

It is a quiet revolution, mirroring Zidane's managerial persona, but underneath bubbles the competitive spirit the Real boss displayed on the pitch. Zidane is of a different era from Ferguson but cut from similar working-class cloth. Unlike De Laurentiis, Perez may consider promoting his current coach not as a cliched imitation of the long-serving Old Trafford manager but as a loyal club servant of 17 years who has done more to bolster the president's own position in 16 months than any of his predecessors since the turn of the century.

When sacking Ancelotti, Perez said: "After two years and given the excellence required at Real Madrid, it is time to push for something new." Even if Zidane ends the season empty-handed, Perez will not be as naive again. It would be verging on insanity to look for yet another quick-fire solution with the pieces already in place for successful long-term stability.

Rob Train covers Real Madrid and the Spanish national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @Cafc13Rob.

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