Brazilian legend once issued cautionary note on Zinedine Zidane’s management style at Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane is undoubtedly one of the best players soccer has ever produced. He used to dazzle opponents with his magical dribbles and passes, and is still considered by many to be one of the greatest players to play the beautiful game.

After such a successful career, Zidane carried his winning mentality to managing. He became one of Real Madrid’s best ever managers, winning many notable trophies. Still, there was one former rival who felt that the Frenchman’s tactics were not suitable.

Rivaldo highlighted concerns over Zidane’s handling of young players

Rivaldo, the Brazilian playmaker, used to play for Zidane’s club rival Barcelona. They were often at odds on the pitch, both for the club and the country. While Rivaldo never became a manager after retiring as a legendary player, he once warned Zinedine Zidane about his management of young players at Real Madrid.

In 2021, during Zidane’s final season as Real Madrid manager, Ronald Koeman was coaching rival Barcelona. In an interview with Spanish media outlet Marca, Rivaldo lauded Koeman for his handling of young players, allowing the likes of Pedri, Gavi and many others to flourish.

However, he did not have the same opinion of Zidane, even though he led Madrid to many trophies. Rivaldo said that Zidane was not allowing his young players to thrive, “I don’t know who will be behind all this, but Zinedine Zidane is doing the opposite of what he did when he started using young talents like Federico Valverde, Rodrygo or Vinicius Junior.”

He recounted a story of Vinicius being punished by the manager and said it was harmful. “I read this week that it could be a punishment because Vinicius would have looked at his mobile phone during a Zidane talk. Those things do not have to be solved by leaving a footballer without playing, because then you are hurting your own team and Zidane himself.”

It is important to note that the young players of Madrid during Zidane’s managerial tenure are all thriving currently. Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Valverde are all now the best players in their positions, so Rivaldo may have had a point.

Zinedine Zidane’s UCL success with Madrid

Zinedine Zidane is one of the most successful players of Real Madrid both as a player and manager. As a player, Zidane helped Madrid win the 2002 Champions League trophy by scoring the winning goal in the match against Bayer Leverkusen. His brilliant volley in that final is still considered one of the best goals in UCL final history.

He would then continue his UCL success with Madrid, this time as a manager. With a super team consisting of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Karim Benzema, and others, he won not one but three UCL trophies between 2016 to 2018. He won all three back-to back as well, becoming the first manager ever to win three UCL trophies in a row and the first to win them back-to-back as well. His UCL-winning Madrid team is often called one of the best ever soccer teams, and he has also cemented his status as one of the greatest managers in European soccer.

Zinedine Zidane is currently without any job in soccer, having last managed Madrid in 2021. There have been some rumors connecting him to Manchester United and other clubs though it doesn’t seem like he will be back in the sport anytime soon.