Real Madrid has brought in Zinedine Zidane to take over for Rafael Benitez as manager after Benitez was let go by the club. Zidane takes over just seven months after Benitez was brought in and now he will lead a team that is third in the La Liga standings heading into the January schedule.
Zidane previously was the Real B coach and was promoted to the first team to replace Benitez. Zidane was rumored to be the manager in waiting for the club and now he will have half of a season to get things going with the team behind Atletico and Barcelona in the standings. Benitez finished out his run with Real Madrid in a 2-2 draw with Valencia and now Zidane will take over.
The first match for Zidane will be this weekend when the club picks up the La Liga schedule against Deportivo la Coruna. Benitez has had a solid run with the team, losing just three of his 25 games and he also led the team into the Champions League last 16 round. Zidane has been coaching the B club since 2014 and he comes in after previously playing for the club as a player.
Atletico comes in with 41 points this week, while Barcelona has 39 points and Real Madrid has 37 points, one ahead of Villarreal. Real has been scoring in bunches this season, winning 10-2 against Rayo and 8-0 against Malmo, but those performances were not enough to keep Benitez in his job. Zidane will have Deportivo next and then the team plays against Sporting and Real Betis on the schedule.
