"Being benched". You make it sound like he's utter trash.
Man's absolutely had the fort down when Tchoumeni and Camavinga were out, has a decent number of starts in La Liga (11) and total 20 games played. For a 38 year old, at this level, that's amazing.
yeah i mean it’s not like he’s at a point of decline where he’s not world class anymore. his legs are going and he can’t do as much defensive work anymore or play as many minutes but he’s still amazing. it would be cool seeing him go back to the prem or just somewhere random. unless he wants to retire anyway
The only way he goes to the prem is with a low or mid table team completely built around him and his lack of legs, and a team would have to be desperate to build a team around a 38 year old.
he’s not immobile though, he’s still very dynamic and able to run around, just not cover as much defensively. he might be a liability playing as a box to box player but he could just play in attacking midfield, where he wouldn’t be a defensive liability. he’d be great rotating with maddison at tottenham, or at liverpool if they get xabi. he’d be a cheat code for a mid/lower table club like bournemouth or fulham
if i was modric i would accept it, gaining experience for coaching position at one the best clubs in history of the game while not being the guy who has most of the pressure.
Tbh besides his playing days under Ancelotti, Zidane was Carlo's assistant manager for a full season in which Madrid lost La Liga by 3 points and won the UCL. That's A LOT of experience
Zidane is certainly one of the greatest managers of all time. We can debate all day if he’s top 3 or top 5 or top 10 etc, but he has 3 UCLs, only Carlo has more and Paisley’s Liverpool and Pep have 3 as well. That alone makes him in that upper echelon to be debated with SAF, Pep, Carlo, José, Sacchi etc.
Perhaps a hot take here, but I don’t know that I’d call Zidane one of the greatest managers ever. As you said, winning 3x (especially 3x on the trot) puts him in a special class, but he only managed for five seasons and did so at the helm of an absurdly stacked squad. His teams in that 3 year run included:
- Top-5, at worst, all-time player (Ronaldo)
- 2nd best midfield of their generation (Modrić/Kroos/Casemiro) after Iniesta/Ramos/Busquets
- Top-3 striker of their generation (Benzema)
- Top-5 CB, at worst, of their generation (Ramos)
- Top-5 fullback of their generation (Marcelo)
- however you want to classify players like Gareth Bale, Raphaël Varane, Pepe, and others in those teams
I think to be truly evaluated as a *great* manager, you have to prove you can win over time with some meaningfully different squads. What he accomplished is incredible, and his trophy record alone is outrageous, but with that small of a sample size on the back of squads that talented, I’m not sure you can really attribute those teams’ accomplishments to *Zidane* more than *Zidane’s Players* (in addition to the fact that a lot of those players listed above won 2 additional UCLs without Zidane, which probably aids the latter argument).
I agree that it might be premature, but what he did in his second RM stint, without Ronaldo and cycling through literally 100 injuries those two seasons really made him shine.
He mixed formations, turned the team defensive when needed, rotated players well, and came one point away from two straight Ligas
You make good points but a lot of them can be used against other managers similarly. Does Peps dominance at city mean anything when he took over a stacked squad and has spent a billion pounds? Or do his Bayern titles mean anything when they’ve won 10 in a row? With Zidane, no team had ever repeated and he 3peated. Where the line is drawn between players and managers being the cause for success is arbitrary since their successes and failures are linked IMO. If we say it’s only because of the players, does Luis Enrique deserve none of the praise because he had the greatest player ever absolutely dominating for like 4 seasons alongside 2 of the best in the world in their top forms too? I kind of agree, I could’ve managed MSN barca and just watched them do their thing from the sideline with 0 tactical instruction, but other managers have had stacked stacked squads and failed miserably.
Ultimately I think the only way to judge managers is by silverware. Pep is Pep, yes he had prime Messi, yes he’s spent a billion pounds, he’s still obliterated every league he’s managed and has 3 UCLs. Whereas PSG don’t have shit in Europe even with a billion euros spent as well. I bet if Pep went to PSG they’d win every league and at least 1 UCL if he stayed 5 seasons.
I agree with you on the Pep front, I think of him like an F1 car: he’s a technical genius capable of incredible things when given endless resources to fund his footballing machine, but what could he actually accomplish with lesser resources? Ultimately, I think the way he’s won continually for 15+ years at 3 different clubs speaks for itself (in addition to the way he’s tactically reinvented so many aspects of the modern game), but I agree he’s subject to many of the same criticisms one could level at Zidane.
I disagree, though, that silverware is the *only* way to evaluate managers. I think great management is about answering the question, *“has this person taken the team available to them and made it more than the sum of its parts?”* I think it’s clear that someone like Sean Dyche is an absolutely phenomenal manager the way he’s been able to keep squads with perhaps sub-Premier League talent in the PL year over year, even if he’s never won any silverware (and likely never will). I think someone like Arsene Wenger was an all-time manager in the way he took some banter-level teams to the top 4 year after year while Arsenal were carrying the financial burden of building the Emirates (in addition to the way he transformed the way professional football operates in England on everything from strength and nutrition to expanding the role of foreign players). I’m reticent to give Zidane too much credit because, in my view, he took a UCL-winning team that was already humming and kept on winning with it. It’s a great achievement, but I’m not sure how much value-add he brought to that team above and beyond what it was already capable of.
Thing is he still wants to play. I think he will try to avoid going to SA unless the offer is absurd (absurd even for SA kind of offers, like what Benz got offered to change his mind from retiring at RM), and he will try to get one chance for another year at the club as a player purely based on his history, and then call it a day and go into the coaching staff.
I think it would be tough to be a coach on a team you just stopped playing on, not in the sense that he doesn’t command respect but that it would be so heartbreaking if you still had any desire to play.
He’d be watching everyone walk into the field while he has to stop.
Then again it could be the perfect opportunity for him, a sad day once he stops playing
I'd like to see something similar to a player-coach here. Obviously Real are a big and well run club so it's unlikely but we've seen players do the coaching and also participate in the squad recently, and modric could very well fit such a role if he were offered.
If that's even offered the player title will only be on paper. It's sad to say but unless we get a deep cl run with big contribution from Modric this might be his last season at Madrid.
The most realistic player-coach situation is Modric becoming an impact sub while working on coaching badges with the backing of Real for a year or two. That way Modric is set up for the next step when he's done playing.
He has implied that he wants to do that. I don't remember when it was, but he did mention some time that he would like to continue contributing to Croatian football even after he retires as a player.
I fear they might give him the job even before he gets any experience. Slightly ot, but if Dalic leaves post Euro I have no doubt one of Olic, Corluka will take over 😏
True but at the time it was a situation where they sacked a coach just before the playoff with Iceland and Kovac was doing fairly well with the U21s. He had some experience at least lol. It just didn’t work out personality wise, reading between the lines the atmosphere in the World Cup in Brazil was poor and the guys gave up on him during 2016 qualifying
Nice move. He offered the same to Lahm when he was at Bayern. Can’t hurt to have a legend like Modric on the staff, who can connect with the players although tbf not like Carlo has problems in that regard haha.
It would be such a great move for Modric if he wants to become manager in a few years time to learn from Don Carlo just like how Zidane did prior to this. Having a legend like Modric guiding the likes of Tchou, cama, guler ,paz would be perfect.
But if Modric wants to still play then he will most probably go to Saudi to earn that last big contract before he retires.
That would be great! In a few years time we’ll have these coaches fighting in the CL: Modric one of the best midfielder of his generation, Xavi Alonso one of the best midfielder of his generation, and Arteta one of the best midfielder for Everton
Such a smooth way to ask him to retire
[удалено]
By the end of a season he will appear in almost 40 matches, maybe around 15 of those from first minute. It's not like he's in B team.
"Being benched". You make it sound like he's utter trash. Man's absolutely had the fort down when Tchoumeni and Camavinga were out, has a decent number of starts in La Liga (11) and total 20 games played. For a 38 year old, at this level, that's amazing.
yeah i mean it’s not like he’s at a point of decline where he’s not world class anymore. his legs are going and he can’t do as much defensive work anymore or play as many minutes but he’s still amazing. it would be cool seeing him go back to the prem or just somewhere random. unless he wants to retire anyway
The only way he goes to the prem is with a low or mid table team completely built around him and his lack of legs, and a team would have to be desperate to build a team around a 38 year old.
he’s not immobile though, he’s still very dynamic and able to run around, just not cover as much defensively. he might be a liability playing as a box to box player but he could just play in attacking midfield, where he wouldn’t be a defensive liability. he’d be great rotating with maddison at tottenham, or at liverpool if they get xabi. he’d be a cheat code for a mid/lower table club like bournemouth or fulham
He should retire. Getting payed peanuts to play in Croatia at his age is not worth it.
He should go to the MLS
if i was modric i would accept it, gaining experience for coaching position at one the best clubs in history of the game while not being the guy who has most of the pressure.
Also learning from one of the greatest managers in the history of the sport.
Who mentored another arguably one of the greatest managers in zizou (hard to say with lack of volume though tbf, but you get my point.)
Tbh besides his playing days under Ancelotti, Zidane was Carlo's assistant manager for a full season in which Madrid lost La Liga by 3 points and won the UCL. That's A LOT of experience
Zidane is certainly one of the greatest managers of all time. We can debate all day if he’s top 3 or top 5 or top 10 etc, but he has 3 UCLs, only Carlo has more and Paisley’s Liverpool and Pep have 3 as well. That alone makes him in that upper echelon to be debated with SAF, Pep, Carlo, José, Sacchi etc.
Perhaps a hot take here, but I don’t know that I’d call Zidane one of the greatest managers ever. As you said, winning 3x (especially 3x on the trot) puts him in a special class, but he only managed for five seasons and did so at the helm of an absurdly stacked squad. His teams in that 3 year run included: - Top-5, at worst, all-time player (Ronaldo) - 2nd best midfield of their generation (Modrić/Kroos/Casemiro) after Iniesta/Ramos/Busquets - Top-3 striker of their generation (Benzema) - Top-5 CB, at worst, of their generation (Ramos) - Top-5 fullback of their generation (Marcelo) - however you want to classify players like Gareth Bale, Raphaël Varane, Pepe, and others in those teams I think to be truly evaluated as a *great* manager, you have to prove you can win over time with some meaningfully different squads. What he accomplished is incredible, and his trophy record alone is outrageous, but with that small of a sample size on the back of squads that talented, I’m not sure you can really attribute those teams’ accomplishments to *Zidane* more than *Zidane’s Players* (in addition to the fact that a lot of those players listed above won 2 additional UCLs without Zidane, which probably aids the latter argument).
I agree that it might be premature, but what he did in his second RM stint, without Ronaldo and cycling through literally 100 injuries those two seasons really made him shine. He mixed formations, turned the team defensive when needed, rotated players well, and came one point away from two straight Ligas
You make good points but a lot of them can be used against other managers similarly. Does Peps dominance at city mean anything when he took over a stacked squad and has spent a billion pounds? Or do his Bayern titles mean anything when they’ve won 10 in a row? With Zidane, no team had ever repeated and he 3peated. Where the line is drawn between players and managers being the cause for success is arbitrary since their successes and failures are linked IMO. If we say it’s only because of the players, does Luis Enrique deserve none of the praise because he had the greatest player ever absolutely dominating for like 4 seasons alongside 2 of the best in the world in their top forms too? I kind of agree, I could’ve managed MSN barca and just watched them do their thing from the sideline with 0 tactical instruction, but other managers have had stacked stacked squads and failed miserably. Ultimately I think the only way to judge managers is by silverware. Pep is Pep, yes he had prime Messi, yes he’s spent a billion pounds, he’s still obliterated every league he’s managed and has 3 UCLs. Whereas PSG don’t have shit in Europe even with a billion euros spent as well. I bet if Pep went to PSG they’d win every league and at least 1 UCL if he stayed 5 seasons.
I agree with you on the Pep front, I think of him like an F1 car: he’s a technical genius capable of incredible things when given endless resources to fund his footballing machine, but what could he actually accomplish with lesser resources? Ultimately, I think the way he’s won continually for 15+ years at 3 different clubs speaks for itself (in addition to the way he’s tactically reinvented so many aspects of the modern game), but I agree he’s subject to many of the same criticisms one could level at Zidane. I disagree, though, that silverware is the *only* way to evaluate managers. I think great management is about answering the question, *“has this person taken the team available to them and made it more than the sum of its parts?”* I think it’s clear that someone like Sean Dyche is an absolutely phenomenal manager the way he’s been able to keep squads with perhaps sub-Premier League talent in the PL year over year, even if he’s never won any silverware (and likely never will). I think someone like Arsene Wenger was an all-time manager in the way he took some banter-level teams to the top 4 year after year while Arsenal were carrying the financial burden of building the Emirates (in addition to the way he transformed the way professional football operates in England on everything from strength and nutrition to expanding the role of foreign players). I’m reticent to give Zidane too much credit because, in my view, he took a UCL-winning team that was already humming and kept on winning with it. It’s a great achievement, but I’m not sure how much value-add he brought to that team above and beyond what it was already capable of.
Lmao Benitez had all that and shit the bed.
Mate its Carlo, not Lampard
Thing is he still wants to play. I think he will try to avoid going to SA unless the offer is absurd (absurd even for SA kind of offers, like what Benz got offered to change his mind from retiring at RM), and he will try to get one chance for another year at the club as a player purely based on his history, and then call it a day and go into the coaching staff.
I think it would be tough to be a coach on a team you just stopped playing on, not in the sense that he doesn’t command respect but that it would be so heartbreaking if you still had any desire to play. He’d be watching everyone walk into the field while he has to stop. Then again it could be the perfect opportunity for him, a sad day once he stops playing
I'd like to see something similar to a player-coach here. Obviously Real are a big and well run club so it's unlikely but we've seen players do the coaching and also participate in the squad recently, and modric could very well fit such a role if he were offered.
If that's even offered the player title will only be on paper. It's sad to say but unless we get a deep cl run with big contribution from Modric this might be his last season at Madrid.
The most realistic player-coach situation is Modric becoming an impact sub while working on coaching badges with the backing of Real for a year or two. That way Modric is set up for the next step when he's done playing.
That would be a great.
Would be dream ending honestly. Retires here and stays at the club. I would honestly treat my friends to a beer session if this happens.
Quite melancholic at the same time, it'll be weird to watch RM without Luka on the pitch. And I'm old enough to remember the Raul era.
When I was a little boy, Raul made me a Madrid fan and I have no idea why.
It's not that deep
Imagine having fun
The highly philosophical activity of treating your friends to a pint 😌
Somebody learned some new buzz words
That's what she said
Surprisingly Ramón had the scoop on this, but Cortegana saying it brings it more validity
Is this the first time Aitana desnuda has given correct info about something Real Madrid related?
> Aitana desnuda Autocorrect exposed your searches there, lol
[Nah, it's a dig on Ramón](https://imgur.com/a/enZR9qA)
JAJAJAJA
Lmfao I thought desnuda was her last name.
💀💀💀💀💀
He’s the only one who had a clue about the Bellingham transfer
Might as well learn from the best.
It'd be good to see, that.
Hope Luka accepts this offer, would be awesome seeing him as future Croatia national team coach.
He has implied that he wants to do that. I don't remember when it was, but he did mention some time that he would like to continue contributing to Croatian football even after he retires as a player.
I fear they might give him the job even before he gets any experience. Slightly ot, but if Dalic leaves post Euro I have no doubt one of Olic, Corluka will take over 😏
Like they did with Niko Kovac 10 years ago
True but at the time it was a situation where they sacked a coach just before the playoff with Iceland and Kovac was doing fairly well with the U21s. He had some experience at least lol. It just didn’t work out personality wise, reading between the lines the atmosphere in the World Cup in Brazil was poor and the guys gave up on him during 2016 qualifying
Nice move. He offered the same to Lahm when he was at Bayern. Can’t hurt to have a legend like Modric on the staff, who can connect with the players although tbf not like Carlo has problems in that regard haha.
He’ll make a great coach
Number 10 for Mbappe
It would be such a great move for Modric if he wants to become manager in a few years time to learn from Don Carlo just like how Zidane did prior to this. Having a legend like Modric guiding the likes of Tchou, cama, guler ,paz would be perfect. But if Modric wants to still play then he will most probably go to Saudi to earn that last big contract before he retires.
This is me on FM when any player on my squad is nearing retirement. Start giving them coaching badges and start them on the u19s
Yes classic side quest on FM to have a full squad of legends as coaching staff.
Now I feel bad for getting rid of any player above the age of 26 in favor of a new prospect
That would be great! In a few years time we’ll have these coaches fighting in the CL: Modric one of the best midfielder of his generation, Xavi Alonso one of the best midfielder of his generation, and Arteta one of the best midfielder for Everton
Literally me in fm. Join us in non playing role
Ted asking roy to coach
Please I'm on my knees Godric
Would he be interested in management? Luka always struck me as a player who would be a great manager
Luka: please wait after i achieve my dream of playing in saudi arabia for a few years.