Zinedine Zidane brought Real Madrid three times the Champions League with Cristiano Ronaldo. Now, without Ronaldo it would prove as good as what Zinedine Zidane is. Maybe the Algerian descent man needs to be reminded of a man named Aime Jacquet, who dared to concoct his idea, kick a star, and play a big role in bringing the name of Zidane to soar in St Denis, July 12, 1998.
The story began on November 17, 1993. At that time, France, who played at home against Bulgaria in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. In the last qualifying match, France only needed a draw to be able to pitch to the 1994 World Cup held in the United States. French optimism is clearly extraordinary because they have several names that are classy in the squad. Call it Eric Cantona who played at Manchester United, Jean Pierre Papin who played at AC Milan, and David Ginola who was a mainstay of Paris Saint-Germain.
The three names are in their golden age. Not to mention some other names that are not less flashy, just call Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps. The public at the Parc des Princes cheered as Eric Cantona broke into the Bulgarian goal in the 31st minute. However, six minutes later Emil Kostadinov was able to equalize. The draw is actually enough for France to go to the United States.
Unfortunately, when the game left only a little time, namely in extra time, Emil Kostadinov instead returned to breaking down the French goalkeeper. France lost and failed to the United States in 1994. It was the second time in a row that France failed to qualify for the World Cup. Clearly an extraordinary disappointment for the French public. Because, in 1998 they will be the host. After that failure, France decided to change the coach. Gerard Houlier was replaced by his assistant, Aime Jacquet.
In the hands of Jacquet, France is tidying up. The coach who was born in 1941 decided not to use the services of Eric Cantona, David Ginola, Jan Pierre Papin, and Basile Boli. This last name is a formidable defender whose header took Marseille to win the Champions League in 1993. Jacquet then called some young people. Among these are Zinedine Zidane and Youri Djorkaeff.
At Euro 1996, France failed to enter the final. They lost on penalties to the Czech Republic in the semifinals. The barrage of attacks on Jacquet was symptomatic. L’equipe, a French media passionately attacked Jacquet. The attack on Jacquet was not without reason. Because, in two years France will host the 1998 World Cup. However, Jacquet had a solid attitude. He was firm in his stand. He made Zidane the French mascot at the 1998 World Cup.
Many people are not sure about Zidane, especially when in the 1998 World Cup group stage, Zidane got a red card against Saudi Arabia. However, everyone knows that Zidane who later became the hero of France in the four annual event. Zidane’s two goals plus one from Emmanuel Petit, made France beat Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final. France for the first time won the world cup. After that success, Jacquet chose to step down from the French coaching chair.
Jacquet was firm in his stand. He wants to build a team within five years. He attacks his opponent with a French performance on the field. Jacquet was not dazzled by the big names Eric Cantona and David Ginola. He chose to play young players hope France in the future, like Zidane.
Zidane is definitely not Jacquet. But Zidane certainly knows how Jacquet built the team. Looks like that should be an important lesson for Zidane. Zidane can at least learn to build a team. Zidane had to forget about his golden period which brought Madrid to the Champions League three times. Forgetting in the sense, Zidane needs to bring new enthusiasm for Madrid without Ronaldo, without first-class stars.
Zidane also needs to see his colleague who has also trained Jacquet, namely Didier Deschamps. Deschamps dared not call Karim Benzema, who before the 2018 World Cup was still good because he participated in bringing Madrid three times in a row. Deschamps’ belief bore fruit because he knew how to build a team, without stars like Benzema. Deschamps was able to bring France the 2018 World Cup champions.
Once again, Zidane must realize that there is no longer the name of Ronaldo in the Madrid squad. Zidane should be able to mix his team as soon as possible. Moreover, they will fight Manchester City very soon in the champions league round. This is Zidane’s season of proof that he is a classy coach, even without Ronaldo.
ASL
