Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari successfully mimicked Zinedine Zidane’s strategy as the key to victory over Valencia on Sunday (2/12). Solari used Zidane’s brilliant formula when he had to lower the second tier.
Zidane’s plan B, which was imitated by Solari, has its own advantages. Zidane is said to be able to remove all the abilities his team has, as reported by BolaSport.com from Marca. The strategy was useful when Real Madrid had a season in several competitions. Marca said, Solari managed to emulate Zidane’s bold strategy by relying on second-tier players in important matches.
After presenting three consecutive Champions League trophies, Zidane left a legacy of brilliant tactics capable of bringing Madrid to victory.
The Frenchman managed to make positive changes by using the lining squad as a motorbike for Los Blancos’ victory in the 2016 European Champions League final.
Zidane’s tactics of replacing Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema to play Danilo, Lucas Vazquez and Isco proved the success of Los Blancos to win the 2016 Champions League title.
By playing a squad like Danilo, Isco and Vazquez, Solari again used Zizou’s powerful tactics in the match against Valencia on Sunday (2/12). Substitution of players using this second tier, managed to lock the victory for Los Blancos in the second round.
The plan that Zizou had, is now being reused by Santiago Solari to get Madrid out of a negative record. In fact, the tactic of playing this upholstery player instead became an unexpected force from El Real.
The formation of the new squad, now opens the opportunity to get more playing time after successfully recovering the construction of the Real Madrid game that has been lost since Zizou left.
However, Solari also still has other reliable star-studded backup players. Of course this player’s rotation greatly helped Los Blancos in recovering stamina especially when the main squad faced Spanish League giants or competed in the Champions League.
Facing Valencia, Madrid appear without Toni Kroos, Marcelo and Casemiro who are injured. Solari also dared to rotate Gareth Bale and Luka Modric and provide opportunities for Vazquez, Ceballos, Llorente and Asensio.
Solari uses this formula to fight Valencia after previously Real Madrid suffered a heavy defeat from Eibar. The composition of the new team could be a turning point for Solari to regain the confidence and mentality of the champions of Madrid which began to disappear after Zizou and Cristiano Ronaldo left
However, this strategy did not always succeed in the era of Zinedine Zidane. Learning from that experience, Santiago Solari must be able to utilize and maximize the capabilities of the Real Madrid players.
