The Legend Behind The Legend

At 32, Ronaldo is better than ever and leading Real Madrid to a historic season, thanks to some unexpected advice from his unlikely manager, Zinedine Zidane.

- Sid Lowe

Zinedine Zidane needs to have a quiet word, which is the way he has most words. It is late summer 2016 at Valdebebas, Real Madrid’s state-of-the-art HQ northeast of Spain’s capital, and it is hot outside. In the foreground, dominating the skyline, stand the four skyscrapers constructed a decade ago on the site of Madrid’s old training ground. Easily the tallest buildings in the country, they are nicknamed for the original galácticos, the most glamorous collection of footballers ever brought together in a single side: Luis Figo, Ronaldo Nazario, David Beckham and Zidane.

All of them played for Madrid in the 2000s; now one of them, unexpectedly, is coach. Zidane: World Cup winner, European champion, Champions League winner with Real Madrid and holder of the Ballon d’Or, the coveted prize for the world’s best player. One of the all-time greats.

In January 2016, Zidane had taken over a team of malcontent superstars with a conservative style of play and a disappointing third-place standing in La Liga. Five months later, Zidane’s squad won the Champions League. Now, as he looks out over the skyline on this August day, Zidane has two obvious goals: repeat in the Champions League and reclaim the La Liga crown from Leo Messi’s Barcelona. But first he has to do the completely unexpected by changing the way this generation’s greatest galáctico, Cristiano Ronaldo, approaches the game.