At the very top European clubs, the pressure to deliver trophies and continued success is unrelenting, and with that in mind, one under-performing coach is running out of time to save his job.
Zinedine Zidane enjoyed an unprecedented period of success during his first tenure as Real Madrid coach, winning a hat-trick of Champions League titles, something that had never been done before.
However, since returning to the role after the disastrous tenures of Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari, the Frenchman hasn’t been able to inspire Los Blancos in the way in which he perhaps had hoped.
According to Spanish daily, MARCA, despite Real Madrid having beaten Barcelona in El Clasico, a string of poor recent results which saw Barca head back to the top of the La Liga table before football was suspended because of the coronavirus, has meant Zidane is on borrowed time.
‘The Frenchman’s situation at Los Blancos is complicated, with doubts hanging over him and there’s nothing he can do about that now,’ MARCA’s report states.
‘If the season can’t be completed, there are big question marks over whether Zidane will remain in charge.’
Being a club legend has clearly helped Zidane in the past, but another season without silverware, bar the Spanish Super Cup, is unlikely to impress his paymasters at the Santiago Bernabeu.