Opinion: Soccer giant Real Madrid wise to bring back Zinedine Zidane

Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid are set to finalize a stunning move to rehire former head coach Zinedine Zidane, multiple news media outlets reported on Monday, in what will surely be seen as a desperate attempt to arrest a startling run of poor form.

But that doesn’t make it wrong.

Zidane, one of the sport’s greatest players in history, quit at the end of last season after taking the club to a third consecutive Champions League title. Since his departure fortunes have plummeted, with Real seemingly out of touch in the race for Spain’s La Liga title and eliminated by underdogs Ajax in the Champions League.

Zidane, a former World Cup winner, walked away last year to take a sabbatical from soccer, claiming he was worn out. In truth, his team was on tired legs too, aging quickly despite its ongoing success.

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And while it was the right time for Zidane to go, now is also the proper time for him to come back. Expectations are no longer ludicrously high, and the Real faithful have been given a reminder that continued glory like Zidane managed should never be taken for granted.

The fans had recently been chanting for the appointment of Jose Mourinho, whose best days as a coach are now long behind him. Instead, they got a much better option.

Zidane has the chance to do in the short term what Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari could not: motivate a group of players who have endured a crisis of confidence.

Gareth Bale has been a target for scorn of late, but Zidane could be just the man to return the Welsh star to the peak of his game. It was just 10 months ago when Bale scored twice in the Champions League final, just a few days before Zidane resigned.

In the long term, Zidane will have the opportunity to rebuild the squad. Already there was a report in the Independent that the new manager will have nearly $400 million to spend in the summer on upgrading Real.

With Zidane back, the balance of power in Spain no longer has an inevitable drift to it, less than two weeks removed from Barcelona’s triumph in the El Clasico derby.

Real Madrid got some renewed momentum – and has the right man at the helm once again.