Zinedine Zidane has made many radical choices since he was reappointed Real Madrid manager after a 10-month leave. He left Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Marco Asensio, Raphael Varane and Thibaut Courtois out of the squad against Huesca this weekend. Added to all of that, he put his 19-year-old son, Luca Zidane, in the goalkeeper position as well youngsters like Marcos Llorente, Dani Ceballos and Mariano Diaz into the starting line-up. It seems like Zidane is trying to get rid of all the experienced players on the squad whom has won three Champions League trophies in a row with, and became complacent. Only the essential players like Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema were left from the glorious Real squad of the last three years, and it seems like Zidane is dismantling a legend to create another one.
Zidane has actually given the hints of his new undertaking after their close win against Huesca. He complained that it is too hard to motivate a team like Real. I think he has a point since players like Modric, Kroos, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Bale and Benzema has won almost all trophies possible, and won the greatest of all, the Champions League, three times in a row. Zidane has done miracles in the last three years, but it seems like the batteries have finally run out for the old players.
Furthermore, as these players grew old, the physical supremacy of Real Madrid, which was essential for their game since the times of Jose Mourinho, has become an inferiority. They can no longer run faster, jump higher or kick harder than other teams, not even against Huesca. They are still a powerful team, but the characteristics of their usual game have vanished since the beginning of this season and Zidane seems to be the only figure that can pull them out of this mess.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo's departure is still the most important factor in Real's nose-dive in form. No player on earth right now, except Lionel Messi, can fill the gap he left in the city of Madrid and his importance in Real's strategy has become much clearer. Since Ronaldo will never come back, at least not as the Ronaldo we know, there are two options for Zidane. Either he can demand a player like Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah or Neymar, or, he can try to build a more compact and self-sufficient team which does not need any Ronaldo-like player. The first option is more tempting but we must not forget that the second has more potential as it is based on collective action rather than individual talent.
My guess is that Zidane will give lots of chances to his youngsters until the end of season and will not demand a high-profile player before the summer. If he can build a solid base until that time, with some reinforcements, Real may become as strong as they were in the last three years.