



He wouldn’t answer that. He doesn’t know that I’ve asked him this question. He doesn’t know that I exist.

I’ll rephrase the question for myself to answer; How does it feel to see the greatest manager in the history of your club return to the dugout just nine months after he walked into the sunset? How does it feel like seeing the person that you’ve idolized because of the way he talks, his attitude of delivering when the pressure is on him, the way he oozes class, the humbleness, the incredible skills he portrayed during the time he played football (even though I didn’t get to witness him play live, unfortunately. YouTube has been of big help.), and just a sense of calmness each time you hear his name? I’d say, incredibly happy. Yet, nervous.

This would mean that we’ll start seeing the best or better versions of each player, as all of them know that Zidane will demand good performances. We’ve seen big players getting benched before (*coughs* Bale), and that will not come as a surprise should it happen again. It definitely will, though.

This also means that Zidane would now have a lot of power when it comes to transfers. Let’s look at the facts here, On 31st May, he left the club saying he doesn’t feel he can provide anything more, that the squad needed a change. While that might be true in his book, it seemed clear that he did not have power when it came to transfers if you look at the spendings in his two and a half seasons in charge. Lopetegui was appointed as his successor, which on paper, looked like the change Zidane was talking about. Lopetegui’s reign was short and terrible, so was Solari’s. Here he is nine months later, back to rebuilding the destroyed palace that he had built. Obviously, when Perez called him, he would’ve placed his conditions. He would’ve said that this squad needs multiple changes, and he wants to have control over transfers. Of course, Perez would agree to those conditions, as he wants him back.

Moreover, it definitely is good news for Isco, Marcelo and Navas as they will now get to actually play a lot more often, unlike under Solari. Isco hadn’t started a game for long, and Navas only played in the Copa Del Rey for Solari, and that will change as Zidane will want them to start more often and for that, they will need to get back to their best.

Also, fans are finally going to be happy. Under Solari and Lopetegui, the match attendance had decreased significantly Patches of empty seats were evident at the Bernabeu, and so were the jeers whenever the match slowed down a bit, or when the team wasn’t playing well. That was not what the players wanted to hear, as they already were low on confidence.

When Zidane oversaw his first match and victory in his second reign as manager, the match attendance was comparatively higher. Even when the passage of play slowed down for the team, the fans didn’t jeer. They were patient and were cheering for their players to perform better than they were at that moment. Who’s the reason for that? Zinedine Zidane.

Obviously, in today’s game, the players weren’t at their best. That was expected, and only after some time would they actually start playing at their best. but they were significantly better than before. They seemed more confident on the ball, and just did everything better than under Solari or Julen. Most importantly though, the players seemed happy. Who’s the reason for that? Zinedine Zidane. The experienced ones did their job and did it well, for example, Modric, Navas and Bale, who, in my opinion, were brilliant today. The youngsters showed that they had a point to prove to the coach, for example, Asensio, who showcased one of his best performances this season.

I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that Zinedine Zidane is back. Oh, Jesus.

Now, let’s get to the part where I tell you why I’m nervous.

Zidane joined in January 2016, won us the UEFA Champions League thrice, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup twice, La Liga and Supercopa once each and then he resigned. How can he possibly match all this again? How can he replicate his successes from his first reign? What if, this time things don’t go right for the French Mastermind?

Well, whatever may happen, one thing is for sure; because of the trophies he’s won for the club, both as a player and manager, will never be forgotten. He’s never going to be on the wrong side of history for Real Madrid even if things go south, because of the respect everyone has for him, and the love Zizou has for this club. And, to be honest, if he’s accepted this challenge, obviously he has given it some thought. He’s aware of the risk to his reputation as a coach, and I’m sure he’ll do his best to maintain it, if not improve it. He must have thought about what he will do differently this time than in the first reign, or what different things he would implement to make this team capable of consistently winning games, now that Ronaldo is gone.

He is back, and again he will try his hardest to prove all the doubters wrong, to prove that when he takes on a challenge, no matter how big or small, he always tends to complete it, and doesn’t back down from it until he does.

When he announced his resignation in May, both Zidane and Perez said that this was not goodbye. The Zidane-Madrid love story cannot and will not end this soon. He will be back they said. No one expected it to be this soon. I most certainly did not. Trust me when I say that when you look at him shouting at players on the sidelines, you’ll say to yourself, "Now everything is complete. Everything is normal, and if not, it will be."

Bon retour, Monsieur Zizou.