As Zinedine Zidane enters his first Clasico as manager of Real Madrid, the pressure for him to beat Barcelona is palpable and he very well knows it. But one of, if not, the most important question to ask is: Will the fans turn on Zizou if he loses El Clasico?
Zidane has done well with Real Madrid so far, winning 11 games out of their last 14 and having Real Madrid in a great position to advance to the semifinals of the Champions League. However, a loss against in-town rival Atlético Madrid had fans clamoring against Real’s players and their coach.
In Real’s following game against Celta Vigo fans started to boo and jeer Ronaldo and Zizou took notice saying, “There are fans who want Ronaldo to be sold? Well I don’t and I’m the coach. As far as the whistles go, they did it to me too, to everyone.”
He went on to say, “It’s not a question of one player in particular, it’s a fanbase that wants more from its players … The fans love the players at the end of the day.”
The thing with Real Madrid fans is that they are a fickle bunch, and when Real is doing well they love their team. And when Real does not perform or get results, the fans are the first ones to let the team know. As Zidane said, they have jeered him at one point in his career. So how will losing to Barcelona impact the way the fans see Zizou now?
We have to look at how Real is performing now as a team, and although Real is sitting behind Barcelona by 10 points in the table, they have been getting results as of late. But an achillies heel for los Merengues has been playing away from home, and they are playing in the Nou Camp, as well as playing good teams, losing to Villareal, Atlético and Barcelona in their last meetings against them.
So to say that expectations for a Real win are pretty low, would be an understatement. With Barcelona looking unbeatable and Real being unable to beat the top two in La Liga, it doesn’t look like the capital club has a chance to win.
But every Clasico is important to both sets of fans, but since this version of the Spanish derby doesn’t have the same feel because Real is so behind their Catalan rivals, Real Madrid fans might not be calling for the end of Zizou as the Madrid manager.
But if both teams happen to advance in the Champions League, the draw could pair them together for another set of Clasicos to be played with a lot more at stake. Since the Champions League is the only trophy Real Madrid can salvage from this season, Merengue fans will be expecting great things to come in the competition.
If Zidane fails to deliver a Champions League trophy, it could grow the restlessness of the Madrid faithful. And it could be a bad sign for the beloved Madrid star going into the next season, where it will be imperative for the Madrid fans that he leads his team to a major trophy win.
