In a sport obsessed with numbers, some stats still manage to make your jaw drop. This one sits right at the top of that list.
When Zinedine Zidane lost his seventh game as manager of Real Madrid, he had already won eight trophies.
Not eight matches. Eight major trophies. The math barely makes sense, but that was the reality of Zidane’s first spell in charge of the biggest club in the world.
Zidane took over as Real Madrid head coach in January 2016. He had no top-level managerial experience. Just a handful of games with the B team. Expectations were mixed, the pressure was enormous, and the critics were circling from day one.
What followed was one of the most dominant managerial starts football has ever seen.
Between January 2016 and May 2018, Zidane led Real Madrid through 149 matches and suffered only 7 defeats. In that same span, he filled the trophy cabinet faster than anyone had imagined.
Here’s what he won before taking his 7th loss:
- 2 UEFA Champions League titles
- 1 La Liga title
- 2 UEFA Super Cups
- 2 FIFA Club World Cups
- 1 Spanish Super Cup
That makes it 8 trophies before defeat number 7.
Even more astonishing is the type of silverware he brought in. This wasn’t a run inflated by domestic cups or preseason fluff. Zidane delivered the biggest prizes available. The Champions League was conquered back-to-back, something no manager had done since the format changed. He also ended Barcelona’s domestic dominance by snatching the 2016-17 La Liga title with a squad that rotated between legends and late bloomers.
The man made winning feel routine at a club where pressure and politics usually swallow managers whole.
His Real Madrid played with control, confidence, and a frightening sense of timing. When the season reached crunch time, they switched gears and steamrolled through Europe. It wasn’t always about flashy tactics or trendy formations. Zidane’s greatest strength was making elite players believe in the plan and play for the shirt.
By the time most managers are still figuring out how to survive, Zidane had already achieved immortality. He did not just beat the pressure. He owned it.
And to think, all of this happened before he even reached double digits in defeats.
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