Zinedine Zidane returns to Real Madrid under vastly different set of circumstances compared to first stint

The most successful, glamorous and often bewildering club in football has reminded the sport that, however chaotic their circumstances, they are still irresistibly attractive.

“I could not say no,” explained Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid got back the manager they have learned to love more than any other this century, only 284 days after he resigned.

A great deal has happened in that time, both to Real and to Zidane, this enigmatic, quixotic former Ballon D’Or winner turned Midas-touch manager.

Madrid have ceased to be European champions, the title Zidane guided them to for three successive years in what was his first job, starting in January 2016, as a head coach for any senior team.

Madrid have ceased to be contenders in either of this season’s Spanish domestic competitions too, thanks to two losses, four days apart, at home to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and La Liga.

Over the space of one dramatic week, then, Santiago Solari, appointed in October, knew for sure that his stint in charge was to be a temporary one. He was not the ‘New Zidane’, for all that he had followed the same path - former Real player; former Real youth team coach - to the hot seat.

But had you asked the intelligent Solari even a few days ago who might succeed him, he would have been unlikely to say his friend Zidane. Back last May, when the Frenchman announced he was stepping down after two and half gilded years, Zidane was so firm and clear about his decision that it was plausible to wonder if he was giving up coaching altogether, burned out, disillusioned.

Why else walk away from a job that had delivered, without interruption, the most prestigious club prize, all those European Cups, and from a role that, in his first full season, he had done so instinctively well that Zidane’s Madrid won la Liga too?

Fact was, Zidane had seen alarming symptoms of fragility, of internal conflict and foresaw that he could no longer solve them.

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From Zidane to Zidane: A timeline of Real Madrid's turbulent period of managerial drama

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He was perfectly prophetic about much of that. Madrid lost their most important player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who chose to move to Juventus for new challenges and an environment where he would feel more appreciated.

Zidane’s successor, Julen Lopetegui, found very quickly Ronaldo’s towering contributions were not easily replicated. Lopetegui also saw the accumulated fatigue, psychological as well as physical, that had accumulated in the dressing-room. As Madrid failed on the pitch, he saw friction too, in a squad where there is an uneven balance of talent and some sizeable egos.

As Ajax, at the Bernabeu, vibrantly expelled Madrid last week from a European Cup they had come to think - under Zidane - they owned, the need for radical solutions was clear. And it is not just the return of Zidane. He has come back with a manifesto, handed to his employers. He set bold conditions over five days of concealed negotiations leading to Monday's announcement.

This Zidane, with a contract until 2022, will be unlike the 43-year-old Zidane who took over the first time, when his main recommendation was his brilliant playing career and he was but a novice in the technical area.

He will be paid a superstar salary, and has been promised the budget to overhaul the dressing-room in ways he will tailor. The idea that Ronaldo - a regular 50-plus goals a season man - could be replaced from within, by, say the inconsistent Gareth Bale, has been proven false.

A dynamic goalscorer, and an expensive one, will be sought. In addition, Eden Hazard’s name will rush up the agenda, the Chelsea player’s admiration for Zidane well known and mutual.

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Zinedine Zidane, Matt Busby and others who returned to manage their former clubs

Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) 2016-18, 2019- Zidane enjoyed a remarkable start to top level management after being appointed in 2016, steering the club for whom he starred as a player between 2001 and 2006 to an unprecedented three successive Champions Leagues. He also guided Madrid to a league crown in 2017 but a year later the Frenchman quit just days after the club claimed a record-extending 13th European title. Now he returns to replace Santiago Solari, who was sacked after a disastrous week that saw Real knocked out of the Champions League and suffer league and cup defeats to Barcelona. Getty Images
Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich) 1987-1991, 2009, 2011-2013, 2017-2018 Heynckes has won four Bundesliga titles as Bayern coach -- the first in 1989 and the most recent just last year. He left for a third time after sealing an incredible 2013 treble of Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup titles, and returned to lead Bayern out of a crisis in 2017 when Carlo Ancelotti was sacked. Getty Images
Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool) 1985-1991, 2011-2012 'King Kenny' became manager for a second time at Anfield in 2011, two decades after an emotional resignation following the Hillsborough disaster brought the end to his first, trophy-laden stint. Dalglish led the Reds to the 2012 League Cup, which remains their only trophy since 2006, but left at the end of the 2011-2012 season after a disappointing eighth-placed league finish. Getty Images
Fabio Capello (Real Madrid) 1996-1997, 2006-2007 Capello led Real to the Spanish title in his first season in charge, and signed key players such as Clarence Seedorf and Roberto Carlos, only to be sacked. He returned to the Spanish capital 10 years later and helped Real end a four-year wait for a major title as he won La Liga in 2007, but was sacked again just weeks later. Getty Images
Marcello Lippi (Juventus) 1994-1999, 2001-2004 Lippi won three Serie A titles and only the second Champions League crown in Juventus' history in the 1990s, before leaving to join their great rivals Inter Milan. But it did not take long for him to return after being sacked by Inter, as he replaced Carlo Ancelotti in Turin, going on to take Juve to another Champions League final in 2003, where they lost on penalties to AC Milan. Getty Images
Matt Busby (Manchester United) 1945-1969, 1970-71 Busby was one of the game's greatest ever managers, having survived the tragic Munich air disaster in 1958 that decimated his much-loved 'Busby Babes' side to help United become the first English winners of the European Cup 10 years later. He retired the following season, but briefly returned to the Old Trafford dugout after the sacking of Wilf McGuinness. Getty Images
Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) 2004-2007, 2013-2015 Mourinho won major titles in all three seasons of his first spell at Chelsea, and returned in 2013 amid great fanfare, declaring himself "the happy one". He won the Premier League title in his second season back, but was sacked a second time after a catastrophic start to the Blues' title defence in 2015. Getty Images
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco) 2014-2018, 2019- Jardim led Monaco to the 2017 French title and despite losing a host of key players, took his side to second place last season. He was then dumped and replaced by Thierry Henry after a dreadful start to the current campaign. However he returned just three months later to replace Henry, who was sacked in January after a poor run of results. Getty Images
Claudio Ranieri (Roma) 2009-2011, 2019- Feted for his 2016 Premier League title win with Leicester City, on Friday Claudio Ranieri returned to his hometown team Roma, where in 2010 he almost pipped Jose Mourinho's treble-winning Inter to the Serie A title. Trophy-starved Roma were top of the league at half-time on the final day of the season but fell short after Inter won at Siena, before losing the Coppa Italia final to Mourinho's outfit. He resigned in February the following year amid a poor run of results. Getty Images

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It will be a busy summer in the market, and, in the meantime, Zidane will be preparing the ground for the new look Madrid, attempting to restore lost confidence to younger players who had thrived in his first spell, like Marco Asensio, and to assess why the likes of Toni Kroos and Marcelo have diminished in his 284 days away.

Zidane has been discreet in that time. That is his natural demeanour. Offers have come to him from elsewhere, but he turned them down. It has also been a dramatic period in terms of his possible career-path.

France, whom he captained and won the World Cup with, triumphed in Russia last July; had they not had a successful World Cup, it is plausible he would have been line to manage his country.

One day he may well coach his country. But his second big job as a manager is the same as his first. Only he will do it with greater wisdom. The expectations will be vast, but he will start off more empowered.

He will continue to be discreet, enigmatic even, but we are about to learn a lot more about Zizou the coach, the man who knew so clearly when to say ‘No more!’, but found it impossible to keep saying ‘No’ for very long.

Zinedine Zidane returns to Real Madrid under vastly different set of circumstances compared to first stint

Initially appointed three years ago to steer the ship, the Frenchman returns to the Bernabeu tasked with transforming a squad that has lost its way

From Zidane to Zidane: A timeline of Real Madrid's turbulent period of managerial drama

Zinedine Zidane, Matt Busby and others who returned to manage their former clubs