Countdown to Zidane

The next 72 hours will be decisive for Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman dodged questions about his future in his last appearances with the media (up to seven were made to him in this regard) after the 2-1 at Villarreal because first he wants to make things clear with Real Madrid. As happened after the final in Kiev, when he met three days later with the club and not seeing his requests met and feeling defeated by circumstances, he decided to step aside. He did it the Thursday after being European champion. Only four days. Zidane is not a man of eternal soap operas. “In the next few days I will talk to the club and we will see,” was the most he conceded this past Sunday.

Madrid is on the lookout because although there are numerous indications that the Marseillais will choose to leave, they have not been by word or deed of Zidane. The club has been transmitting a certain tranquility so as not to alter the waters further while the League was still at stake, but that means little considering that in 2018 the decision to leave caught the club almost completely off guard. The Frenchman does not now have the moral alibi to leave leaving a big title on the table, but that does not guarantee anything either.

In fact, Versions circulate in the white environment that Zidane's reluctance to give any clue that he is leaving is a strategy to see how Madrid breathes. And if you realize that the entity, as happened in the section from November to December, is more for the work of embarking on a new path with another coach. Zizou introduced, before leaving the flash interview in Movistar +, a phrase that he wanted to emphasize: “I have one more year on my contract“It was no accident.

Reflection period

At the moment the players are also waiting. Zidane has denied that he has communicated in a group way to the squad that he is indeed leaving and in his last game he did not either. He said goodbye to them thanking them for its season. At the moment only Zidane's family (his wife and four children) and his closest environment, in essence David Bettoni, know quite exactly what he will do.. Zizou is very jealous of everything that goes through his head. That is why Madrid, including Florentino Pérez, are waiting. As happened with the negotiation of the renewal of Ramos, there are steps that the president is personally in charge of face to face and more so because of the personal relationship between the two. Zidane will not communicate anything without telling Florentino first. José Ángel Sánchez, general director of the club, will also be involved.

That meeting will take place in the next few days. Once the technician recharges the batteries a little. Because that is how Zidane himself wants it and the club also agrees because it has outlined the two secondary plans, Allegri or Raúl. With the Seven there has already been contact and the Italian is still waiting but receiving other proposals. The last, according to what they indicate from England, Tottenham.

With Zidane there will be a personal attempt on the part of Florentino, but also a fundamental question that is powerfully reminiscent of the panorama of three years ago. Then Zidane asked for a thorough renewal of the squad (the first ones I wanted out were Bale and Kovacic) for personal reasons and because he detected exhaustion, but he found Madrid's 'no', who explained that the project still had juice left.

Mbappé, Ramos, Varane …

This time the trick is Mbappé, but the model is much more exhausted than then and on top of that Zizou would probably have to manage without Ramos and Varane, captains and men of his full confidence. It has become publicly wet for the continuity of the two and if they do not follow their credibility as a voice to make important decisions, it would be undermined. Part of the renewal would have to come from players like Odegaard, who left at his own request and precisely because he thought that Zidane was not giving him the space he deserved.. Conditioning factors that do not help either.