The Third Chef Has Arrived

Last week, we discussed Real Madrid’s two ‘former chefs’ from this season — both of whom have since been chopped. Clearly none of us were surprised that the rumoured impeding departure of Santiago Solari became the actual impending departure of Solari. The third chef brought in for this round?

Zinedine Zidane.

Y’all, I legit cried when the news broke that the French chef was coming back to us. Garlic and butter all day.

It’ll be interesting to see what he does with the team he has, including an underperforming Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio; a sulky fringe Isco; and a frustrated Capi. In all honesty, he returns to see a shell of what he left behind. Don’t get me wrong though, there are some bright spots in this team. The young blood brought up this season have shown great potential. This team has shown that they can win some games without Cristiano Ronaldo — though not as frequently and not in as stunning a manner as when he was here.

However, Zidane comes back with greater pressure than what he left. The front office, the coaching staff, the team, the media, the fans – we’re all watching to see if he will replicate the success he had before. With the major titles effectively out of contention, success for Zidane will be measured in the performance of the players and the points the team earns. You’d think that this would ‘lighten the load’ a bit when it comes to stressors, but let’s get real: Expectations are high. When you take over the helm of a ship heading for an iceberg, it is hell to get it turned around again.

Equally intriguing is what will be done within the summer transfer window. Who stays? Who goes? It would be naïve to think that everyone stays. (Personally, I don’t think we have Bale for another season; and sadly, Navas may be questionable too.) Maybe the better question is, who arrives?

Whatever the remainder of the season turns out to be and the summer transfer window turns into – it’ll be fun to watch.