European masters Zinedine Zidane and Unai Emery must pull off another feat in Champions League

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  • Zinedine Zidane was humming to the tune of The Winner Takes It All last year. As he prepares to pit his wits against a sympathetic Unai Emery, it’s now the winner that saves his job.

    It is quite remarkable that Zidane needs to do what no coach has done before and win the Champions League three times in a row, after doing what no coach has done before and winning it back-to-back last year. That’s just how badly Real Madrid’s season has gone.

    Staring up at Barcelona in La Liga from 17 points behind, losing to little old Leganes over two legs in the Copa del Rey and qualifying from the Champions League group stages behind Tottenham. It’s not a good look for any big club, let alone arguably the biggest of them all.

    They are a team in dire need of competition of a freshening up – but no-one was accusing Real of complacency in the transfer market this summer.

    The narrative was that no matter what anyone else did, they had the best players in the world in virtually every position and some of the finest young talent around in Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos.

    Least of all whom were questioning Florentino Perez’s inactivity was Zidane himself. He has staunchly defended his players and, refreshingly, has not made any excuses for their downfall. Nor has he come up with any answers.

    Consequently, for the best part of two months, Real have existed for this moment and this moment alone – the Champions League’s return. It’s a feeling that Emery knows all too well.

    Many like to believe that the tea lady could guide PSG to the Ligue 1 title but it’s not that simple as Monaco, Marseille and Lyon are all fine sides that could compete in any top-flight league in Europe.

    But Ligue 1 simply does not have the prestige to save Emery, a man who was brought to the French capital in the first place because he won three Europa League titles in a row with Sevilla and was a good bet to conquer the grandest stage of them all with an all-star team.

    As delighted as he may have been to watch Neymar and Kylian Mbappe walk through the doors of the Parc Des Princes it has left him with no wriggle room to fail.

    So the two coaches who have won five of the last eight European trophies between them must again head to the continent – not only in search of success, but succour.

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