THINGS were not looking good for Real Madrid this season, but they still managed to win the Spanish title, even though they were unsuccessful in doing so in the last two years.
Zinedine Zidane has once again proved that there is no better coach for Real. Benzema, Kroos, and Ramos led Real for most of the season, but in the most important moments of the championship, Luka Modric was the best player.
Modric was the best when he was most needed
Given that he's 34 years old, Luka Modric cannot play soccer with the same intensity and rhythm as he did five or six years ago. At the beginning of the season, Modric missed several matches due to injury, and once he returned to the field, he was far from being in the best shape.
Zidane recognized the problem in time. Modric hadn't had any real rest since the season of 2017/2018. In the summer of 2018, he played in the World Cup and reached the finals with Croatia, and only two weeks later, he played his first preliminaries at Real Madrid. His age and fatigue could have become an obstacle to his career had Zidane not decided to give him much more rest than in previous seasons. The secret to Modric's success can be explained using only one word. Zidane compared Modric to himself and pointed out one key difference – effort.
"There are some similarities between us, but the key difference is the effort. I had already retired when I was his age, but Luka wants to play. He wants to work. We know what kind of player he is and how much we need him, so we have to give him rest."
Not once in the entire season did Modric play two full games a week, and there were only three instances before the break when he played two games a week with more than 60 minutes per game.
Zidane's decision proved to be beneficial for Real. Barcelona played poorly after the break and lost points, and Real had to take advantage of its mistakes. Modric was ready to play and turn around the championship. Well-rested, he played for Real as he did in his best days. He was one of the three best-rated Real players in six out of nine matches he played after the break.
Unsurprisingly, his performance statistics are declining, but Modric has learned over the years how to pace himself to be the best when his team needed him the most. He played the World Cup in Russia the same way, and now he helped Real win the title.
In recent seasons he has proven why he is the best midfielder of the decade, and this season he has proven why he is a great winner.
"Although I always want to play, I realize the coach needs to rotate players. I feel good on the field. My age? I don't want people to check my ID, I want them to focus on what I do on the field. I don't like talking about my age," Modric stated a few days ago.
Zidane is a genius when it comes to relationships, and he has done great in difficult conditions
Zinedine Zidane is neither a coach known for his great tactical ideas nor a coach who has a recognizable style of play. In a purely tactical sense, Zidane does not belong to the world's elite by any criteria. Real's play depends on the skills of individuals, their defense is shaky, and they are not known for their game plan.
However, Zidane has other strengths that make him one of the best coaches out there. He is great at recognizing the needs of his players and knowing how to keep them in the best shape, both physically and mentally. He earned respect as a player, which is why even the biggest stars in the locker room trust him. He knows how the relationships in the locker room work and what needs to be done so he would get the best out of his players. Considering the talent that Real possesses, that is more than enough.
It should be noted that Zidane managed to win the title in extremely difficult conditions. The players that form the backbone of his team (Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Benzema) are getting old, and their career is on a downward trajectory. They won everything that they could, and a less capable coach would fail to motivate them to play the "less significant" matches.
Florentino Perez spent 230 million euros in order to bring Hazard, Jovic, and Milita as backups for aging players, but all three have played an unremarkable season. Zidane managed to lead an old and somewhat worn-out team to win the third championship title in the last 12 years. He is also the one who managed to lead them to win the previous title. There is no better coach for Real Madrid and this team of players.
When a player of the season is chosen at Real, it will be an injustice if the title is not won by a player who has been incredibly underrated for years.
Benzema is Real's player of the season
Karim Benzema has had to adapt his performance and style of play to the team for years. The man who was the team's top scorer and playmaker in Lyon was reduced to an auxiliary player at Real, the one that would create space for Ronaldo.
With Cristiano having gone to Juventus, Benzema has been given more time to shine, and this season he has shown why we will remember him as one of the best strikers of his generation. He played, dribbled, created space, and assisted, all while being Real's top scorer this season.
The fact that the rest of Real's attack (Jovic, Hazard, Bale, Vinicius, Vazquez, Rodrygo) have scored 11 goals together, and that the team's second scorer was stopper Ramos with 11 goals, shows how much effort Benzema had to put in.
Zidane managed to bring back the past Benzema, and give him maximum freedom so he could play the way he likes the most. Benzema once again played with a smile on his face and reminded us of what he's capable of.