What is making zidane's real madrid so hard to beat?

I'l admit I havent been following la liga too closely. Seen a few real madrid matches and they look decently organized and effective, but no out of the world football like 2011 barca. Also the roster on paper does not seem as strong as some previous years. What makes this group so effective? After so many close calls it seems a bit of a cop out to call it luck..

Zidane

It might not be the strongest team on paper we have had for years- although I might argue that- but it is by far the most balanced team we have had since Makelele and VDB.

For me that has been the key- not being so top heavy as we have done for years.

As Deez pointed out, it is balanced enough to handle different types of styles that come against the team. Also, Zidane is quietly showing he knows what the hell is doing.

There is an element of luck but 40 games unbeaten is definitely down to good team management and some tactical acumen. Having really talented players also helps a bit.

Mainly referees and easy Uefa draws, Perez owns Spanish football officials and Uefa. When ever they struggle they get peno, tough game tired? Peno or offside goal at beginning to ease up pressure. Also Ramos.

Luckiest coach on earth + luckiest player on earth + luckiest president on earth + luckiest club on earth + luckiest ex-player on earth is an already made recipe for success. Isn't really hard to figure out tbh

Luck

Clutch

& Drive


The amount of time Ramos has saved Madrid's ass is extraordinary.

Zidane is playing such unattractive football, it is not necessarily EPL level of ugliness, but to spanish standards, the amount of running down the pitch and crossing, and lack of one-touch / possession-based football is very VERY apparant if you watch all Real Madrid games.

Not saying his tactics haven't been effective, but he is lucky that youngsters / non superstars have such high drive in his team, players like Vasquez, Casemiro, Nacho, Morata, Carvajal, Isco and Asensio, don't take matches for granted, they run themselves to the ground, and thus help with the results

Bankz wrote:Luckiest coach on earth + luckiest player on earth + luckiest president on earth + luckiest club on earth + luckiest ex-player on earth is an already made recipe for success. Isn't really hard to figure out tbh

We can't all have a tax evading crock, an alleged tax evading crock and a dirty, biting player to carry us. Sometimes, a divine entity is needed.

zidane has been able to use all his tools available to him, and by that i mean the guys who sit on the bench. somehow he has been able to find some sort of job for many of them. mourinho, ancelotti nor pellegrini i don't think used the bulk of their squad in this way; i think the fact we've stayed out of transfers, which is something i complained about (silly me), has helped instill some sort of confidence in bench guys.

i'm not interested in the streak, i'm more concerned with the end of the season; however, the injuries we've had this season, regardless of how one wants to spin it, the run's been impressive.....yes we've had ramos bail us out too, but you need an inspired squad or player to do that, and a bit of luck.....i hope he keeps the players inspired to soldier on for more important things.....titles aren't won in january

win first, attractiveness later.....all this talk about "beautiful football, butterflies and honey in the park", doesn't appeal to me if the results aren't forthcoming, just ask arsenal fans....if we can instill more discipline and focus we can get stronger, and the beautiful part will follow.....but business before pleasure

NeganIsco wrote:

Not saying his tactics haven't been effective, but he is lucky that youngsters / non superstars have such high drive in his team, players like Vasquez, Casemiro, Nacho, Morata, Carvajal, Isco and Asensio, don't take matches for granted, they run themselves to the ground, and thus help with the results

that's not luck, it's called quality man management. He makes all players feel involved, get them minutes, speak to them in a way that makes them feel valued.

It's not Luck, it's Man Management. i would argue Zidane is the best man manager we have had since Del Bosque, and yes even better than Ancelotti because the fringe wasnt performing this well for him, like he completely lost jese in his second season.

Also, naming Luck as the primary criteria for a 40 games winning streak is downright foolish and disrespectful. We have a squad full of world class players that are the best at what they do, people can run their mouth to try to diss our players but Ramos for example, is the best defender at attacking set pieces this generation.

Ramos isn't lucky, he mastered a skill set and he is leveraging his talent to pound teams game after game. Plus, when you have a defender taking PK with panenkas, you know he is not a normal guy, he never saw himself like just a defender. He has balls as big as you will find in footy, and he is simply elite.

I have argued this before so i wont go into details but this winning streak is a combination of a world class squads at maturity, with the most experience in european football + great man management.

Now everybody finally gets why, there was no need to panic buy in summer and tear the team apart earlier in the season, because if you watch closely enough the team was getting results and never looked rattled by injuries or form issues, the footy was always getting better and more defined game by game, the squad has a good balance of vets and youngsters + decent rotations.

zidane knows his stuff, seems to be trying to implement more schemes into his tactics, the core players trust and respect him, thus raise their games for something as simple as a unbeating run just for him to have that record and silenced all the critics .

James still needs to be offloaded, a solid CM can be acquired with that $$

He is the only one who does not seem to fit the puzzle, and nor does Zidane have any faith in him, rightly so.

You skipped the first leg against sev?

A combo of what everyone said really. Real's got the players, traditionally the main problem is getting so many star in their squad to all gel and work together with the hard working grit winning mentality which Zidane has done.

From a rival's POV I just hope the run stops soon and things start to go wrong Since when things are smooth and momentum is maintained with all the different factors all working together u can feel unbeatable but once something starts to go wrong it can be hard to maintain it and suddenly things and turn bad quickly

I'll give a hint.

Asensio takes the ball and runs almost 80 yards and finishes it off.

Ramos scores a paneka

Benzema goes past a player for a change, ball bounces off the defender but still reaches him and takes a shot, which gets deflected and still goes in while GK goes the wrong way.

What exactly is the probability of each of these things happening in a single game? That is the reason why  Zidanes Madrid is unbeatable. : D

What a butthurt way to describe benzema taking on 3 players and scoring, something you begged you for, he delivers and your salty about it .

Madrid fans 101

they'll win nothing at the end

possibly might snatch a lol liga after attempting so many times with the costliest squad ever

they couldn't even come first in their CL group... BVB >>>>> RM

^ This is Cersei level of hatred. Jesus

He has 212 posts and they are all about Madrid he dissappeared for a few months after we won the CL. Hopefully it becomes forever when we retain it

NeganIsco wrote:Luck

Clutch

& Drive


The amount of time Ramos has saved Madrid's ass is extraordinary.

Zidane is playing such unattractive football, it is not necessarily EPL level of ugliness, but to spanish standards, the amount of running down the pitch and crossing, and lack of one-touch / possession-based football is very VERY apparant if you watch all Real Madrid games.

Not saying his tactics haven't been effective, but he is lucky that youngsters / non superstars have such high drive in his team, players like Vasquez, Casemiro, Nacho, Morata, Carvajal, Isco and Asensio, don't take matches for granted, they run themselves to the ground, and thus help with the results

This guy keeps pointing out things way before it actually happens.

Damn