La Liga at Xmas: Madrid in Control, but Volatility Suggests Nothing Is Decided

The accusation thrown at him is that he’s lucky, and the man himself agrees. “I do have a lucky star,” said Zinedine Zidane, per AS.com. “I always thought that when I was a player and now, I am having a lot of luck to be going though all of this and I am going to enjoy it as much as I can.”

Zidane was speaking inside the press room at the Bernabeu, where that man had done it again; where all of them had done it again. Those final moments against Deportivo La Coruna were defined by Sergio Ramos, but those moments seemed to define the collective, too.

This is a Real Madrid team that just won’t lose. No matter the opposition or the situation, no matter their own mistakes or vulnerabilities, Madrid keep finding a way. Rarely this season have Zidane’s men looked truly invincible, but to focus on that also misses the point. Ramos’ header against Depor extended the club’s unbeaten run to 35 games; the victories in Japan at the Club World Cup took it to 37. There’s something about Madrid that’s impossible to ignore: a spirit, a belief, a resilience. Or is it luck? 

Zidane’s comment could be interpreted as confirmation that it is, but you sense that’s not how he meant it. He recognises he’s fortunate to have this chance, but the Frenchman has always been a fierce competitor behind that serene exterior. His incessant use of the word “intensity” is reflective of a man who believes in cause and effect. And at what point can it not possibly be luck? 

You can get lucky across two games, five games and maybe even 10 games. But across 37? It can’t be luck anymore if their last defeat was eight months ago; if their least defeat in the league was two months before that. 

Since taking over as Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane has won more titles (3) than he has lost games (2) pic.twitter.com/8jLB8QfPOY

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) December 19, 2016

Of those 37 games, 24 have come this season, 15 of them in the league. A record of 11 wins and four draws has them three points clear of Barcelona at the top with the added bonus of a game in hand. Win it, and the gap becomes six to the Catalans and seven to Sevilla; more than 10 to anyone else. 

Zidane insists that his team “haven’t achieved anything yet,” but though you know what he means, it’s not strictly true.

What they’ve achieved is forging a togetherness and a force of will that wasn’t there before the Frenchman came along. There are now more of the intangibles to go with the talent. This …

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