Zinedine Zidane has come back to save Real Madrid again.
Los Blancos announced Monday on their website they’ve hired the soccer legend as head coach on a three-year contract. He replaces Santiago Solari, who was in charge of the Spanish giant for just four-plus months.
Zidane returns to Real Madrid just 10 months after he resigned in the aftermath of their unprecedented third consecutive UEFA Champions League triumph. After his first appointment as coach in January 2016, he oversaw one of Real Madrid’s most glorious eras, in which it won three UEFA Champions Leagues, two FIFA Club World Cups, two UEFA Supercups, one La Liga title and one Spanish Super Cup in two-and-a-half seasons.
However, he walked away last May reportedly due to differences with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez over the future direction of the squad. Real Madrid subsequently sold superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus, and the team’s results have suffered.
Real Madrid currently sits third in La Liga’s standings, 12 points behind league-leading FC Barcelona. Real Madrid is enduring a poor run of form, having been eliminated from the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) by Barcelona, losing to their eternal rival in La Liga and then being eliminated from Champions League by Ajax. Real Madrid’s 4-1 win over Valladolid on Sunday couldn’t preserve Solari’s job.
Perez has bowed to Zidane’s original demands for squad changes and promised the French tactician more than €350 million (£300 million/$394 million) to spend on new players this offseason, according to the Independent’s Miguel Delaney. Real Madrid is expected to sell midfielder Luka Modric and forward Gareth Bale this summer in order to facilitate Zidane’s revolution.
