COMMENT: Real Madrid and the Champions League. The Undecima. The sad irony is that it was won offering a lesson to Florentino Perez he is sure to ignore.
Lock this away. It is as sure as night follows day. Those 'Florentino OUT!' chants will be heard again at the Santiago Bernabeu next season.
The instability. The chaos. The culture inside Real is still there. They won on penalties. Penalties! If Cristiano Ronaldo had blasted his effort over the bar, where would Florentino be today? Or, more importantly, where would be Zinedine Zidane?
That's the great paradox of Florentino's Real Madrid. The key figure in the Undecima triumph was Zizou. A man whom the president invested almost six years in, building up his management and coaching education. His appointment on January 4 was no bolt from the blue. It was six years in the making. And that long-term investment paid off - not just for Real, but also Florentino. At the lowest ebb of his current presidency, dismissals of Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez spanning barely six months, the man to rescue his reputation was the one he'd backed since 2010.
But the crazy thing is, Florentino just couldn't help himself. In that week of the Champions League final, the president was having doubts about his coach. The manner of how the Liga campaign had tailed off alarmed him and confidants were claiming Zidane wouldn't survive if Atletico won in Milan. It even went as far as middle-men contacting Unai Emery, now formerly of Sevilla, urging him not to make any commitments as the Real job could be his if things went wrong.
That spotkicks saved Zidane from the axe sounds ridiculous. But remember, this is Florentino's Real we're talking about. And adding weight to the Emery story were sources last week claiming Florentino had actually offered Zidane to Olympique Marseille in August.
The story goes, getting wind of Marcelo Bielsa's dramatic resignation last summer, Florentino instructed Madrid reps to make contact with Marseille president Vincent Labrune and offer him Zizou. After a poor campaign in the Segunda B with Castilla, Florentino was having real concerns about whether the Frenchman could handle the first team job and felt he'd be better served coaching a year away from the club. Again, like those spotkicks on May 28, fate intervened. Labrune had already decided on Bielsa's replacement, a former Real Madrid player and captain (no, really!), Michel. Zidane and the Undecima, it seems, was destiny. For Florentino, how jammy can he be?!
That emotional embrace between the two as Zidane went to collect his winner's medal wasn't for show. There's a real friendship between Florentino and Zidane. Indeed, the president revealed to pals afterwards the words Zidane had uttered after the hug were "we did it!". There's a bond between them. But it's not unbreakable.
One long-time Madrid pundit observed, when in conversation with Tribalfootball.com last week, "The Undecima makes no difference. No-one is safe. Not even Zidane. Not when the president is the sporting director."
And that's just it. As close as they are, there is going to be some real tear ups between Florentino and Zizou this summer.
For the moment, the Undecima does offer the coach some power. The option Real Madrid have in David De Gea's Manchester United contract will be allowed to expire this week. Not on Florentino's orders, but Zidane's. The coach sees no reason to dump Keylor Navas after the Costa Rican's superb campaign. In contrast, the president can see dollar signs. The ability of De Gea is just a bonus. It's the status of having a great Spanish goalkeeper as Real's No1 which interests Florentino.
But Zidane has won this one. As he did with Dani Carvajal last season.
It was awkward for Florentino, seeing a Castilla player preferred over his €30 million-plus signing Danilo. But in the end, Zidane's decision paid off. Stability and merit triumphing over money and reputation. But how long can this be kept up?
Zidane won't shy away from big money deals. Mino Raiola was in Madrid last week to chat about Paul Pogba, with Zizou well across developments. Like Florentino, the coach believes Real Madrid is a club that must house the world's best players. But this can't be done at the cost of team spirit. It doesn't matter how much Real have invested in a player (say, €80 million), nor his status in (not to mention anyone) South America, if his attitude and behaviour around the club is poor, he's not going to get a game. Even if his name isJames Rodriguez.
For now, such an approach has been accepted by Florentino, who was careful not to rock the boat on the road to Milan.
But next season it starts all over again. And if Real stumble in the Liga, as they did last season, friendship or not, Zidane will do well to look over his shoulder. Stability just doesn't exist at Florentino's Real Madrid.
