The dream, not the reality.

Season ticket holders and media rumbling with discontent? Buy a Galactico.

Still not happy? Sack a manager.

Another scintilla of criticism? Then tell the great unwashed that the debt is negligible. Build a roof on the stadium. Offer loyal Madridistas free seats on the first charter flight to Pluto.

Or put a legend on the non-playing staff. Di Stefano, Butragueño, Valdano.

Anyone else available?

In the summer, the answer was, ‘yes’.

Therefore, as the Champions League resumed this week there was one participant, and only one, whose father herded goats, who has fallen towards earth at 200km per hour, who has suffered death threats, who’s been called “just a walking billboard who prostitutes himself” and who is as handy as pugilist as he is at football.

It’s not Lionel Messi but this man also once committed to his new club on the back of a serviette, he has played in three European Cup finals and two World Cup finals, scoring four times but only managing a win ratio of 40%.

He had a cinema movie made about his divine elegance, his family call him Yaz, you call him Zizou.

Or Zinedine Zidane. Legend.

Right now he is assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti, the man who last week admitted: “Things are going to improve from now on because we really couldn’t play any worse.”

But Zidane’s time as a Bernabéu (track)suit has been just as full of uncomfortable wriggling as his first few months as a player here were.

The first Galactico

Zinedine Yazid Zidane was, you could argue, the first of Don Florentino’s Galacticos – the Emperor’s first set of new clothes.

Back in 2000 Luis Figo’s world record move shocked football, set a new transfer record and launched the ‘Galactico’ concept.

But his was a buyout — once Figo’s head had been turned by wages and the exact buyout clause paid Barcelona had absolutely no means of preventing him leaving.

Zidane was the jewel in Juve’s crown. Their team was in transition, the Bianconeri were totally opposed to selling but Florentino seduced the player. Zidane gave his current club a ‘let me go’ ultimatum and Pandora’s Box opened.

Perez began to get a kick from picking the pockets of Europe’s elite clubs, and from the evidence that the process was a kind of football valium for most of those whose philosophies opposed his.

The leaving of Juve (which commenced when Zidane was passed a knapkin at a Monte Carlo banquet on which was written: Wanna come out to play? Hugs n kisses, Florentino) is partly why this is a week of ghosts for the Frenchman.

Madrid initially struggled to get the best from him, to fine tune the team and Zidane into a functioning unit.

Then came Hampden. Then came THAT goal (above) and a ninth European Champion Clubs’ Cup win for Los Blancos. The proudest of boasts.

In that balletic, ballistic instant in Glasgow, Zidane indelibly branded himself as the single most identifiable Madrid image in their European Cup history.

Di Stefano, Gento, Puskas, Hierro, Raul, Roberto Carlos may MEAN more, much more, but the extraordinary goal and the global saturation of the Champions League elevate impact over importance.

But, as with much of Florentino’s reign, it proved to be a sugar-filled snack, not a rich banquet.

Infamy awaits at the World Cup

Zidane had arrived with a yearning for the Champions League to love him, having lost two finals and a semi-final in consecutive years with Juve (to Dortmund, Real Madrid and then Manchester United having led 3-1 at home with an away goal advantage).

After Hampden there was only frustration and humiliation. Madrid were twice knocked out of this tournament, at the semi and round of 16, by a rejuvenated Juventus under Marcello Lippi then Fabio Capello. He bet on red and the wheel came up black. He bet on black and the little while ball landed in a red slot.

There was THAT head-butt. Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it infamy Zidane may have been entitled to moan.

However, the Marseille street-fighter in him erupting in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium wasn’t the last evidence that he has rebel, anarchist, blood flowing in his veins.

When footballers metamorphose from racehorses to plodding clydesdales, player to ex-player, they do so in a wide spectrum of ways.

Zidane goes back to his roots

Media pundit, manager, drinker tend to be the top three. Instead, in 2008 Zidane decided to take his former goat-herd father, whom he loves and respects with mad passion, back to Algeria so that the elder could help the younger discover and value his roots.

He became so committed to the cause of muscular dystrophy that, to raise profile and funds, he flung himself out of a plane. Perhaps if that year’s task had simply been walking on water the surprise might have been lesser.

“I always appreciated our earning power and the first class treatment we received but there was an equal and powerful desire to learn, to discover and to be able to see what normal people are able to use their inquisitiveness about life to achieve.

“But I agreed to fight against the causes and effects of muscular dystrophy. Each year this charity asks famous people to overcome some sort of challenge – my year it was sky-diving.”

Free from responsibility he strapped on a parachute, closed his eyes, prayed … and then jumped.

“I thought I would feel real fear but instead it was only apprehension and adrenalin. You are in the plane going higher and higher and you are concentrating on the instructions from someone who has jumped perhaps 8000 times. Yet in the back of your mind you know there is real danger.

“The moment comes, the door opens and instead of fear you just don’t have an instant to think… which is probably just as well.

“You freefall at 200 kilometres per hour for 50 seconds and during those moments you are truly alone with yourself – the adrenaline is magnificent!”

When Zidane was at Juve although he was paid a king’s ransom and forbidden to do so by contract he’d often need the challenge of street football.

Uncomfortable process back in Madrid

Marcello Lippi recalls: “Technically he is the best player I have ever trained. In training he used to do stuff that was 10 times more spectacular that anything he has ever done on the pitch. I used to watch him with amazement. I would go home at 10 o’clock at night and see him out in the streets of his own neighbourhood playing with his Algerian friends. I would stop and tell him that he shouldn’t be playing and he would reply that these were life-long friends and he couldn’t turn them down.”

Now, like then, his urge to be in contact with the ball is urgent.

That uncomfortable process of getting back into planet Real Madrid, which mirrors his initial months as a player, has included him experimenting with positions as Director of Football, Presidential advisor, scout, ambassador – and now assistant to Ancelotti (once his manager at Juve, pictured above).

But he’s earned his spurs, via the Uefa A license course and his role, now, is to smooth the transition from the Jose Mourinho era.

“I was always the leader of the game,” Zidane points out. It was something I loved, organising everything, influencing the game. Off the pitch less so. I’m naturally pretty reserved and in certain situations I can be pretty quiet.

“One thing I’ve learned is how little I know. When I was doing the coaching course sometimes my head would be aching by the time I got to bed. But that just made me all the more determined to keep at it and keep progressing.

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned on the courses is that I don’t have to be really close to someone for the working relationship to flourish. Obviously you need people you trust around you but first and foremost you must look for competent people with the right skills.

“I’ve changed a lot in this respect and nowadays am happy to work with someone I might not know well but who can do the job.

“Previously I worried about being betrayed by someone. It was a fear of putting my trust in someone who might then let me down.”

It seems clear Zidane is worried about how the squad will view him. The man who persuaded Rafa Varane and Isco to choose Madrid (and thus to have a vested interest in them succeeding)? Or ‘just’ Ancelotti’s coaching assistant?

“You can’t be a player’s buddy all the time. If you want him to give you 100 per cent you need to challenge him a bit, even manipulate him. It’s all about knowing when to use the carrot and the stick, when to reward and when to threaten him,” said Zidane.

“I don’t particularly like the word ‘manipulate’ but a coach has to get the best out of his players. At the end of the day chumminess doesn’t work. There’s no point saying to the guy, ‘Do it for me’.”

Tears, frustration and sleepless nights

Juventus, the ‘other’ love of his football life this week. Barcelona, where he scored an epic Champions League semi final goal for Los Blancos back in 2002, at the weekend in Ancelotti’s first Clasico.

Madrid have looked as if their teething troubles under Ancelotti are turning to colic. There have been tears, frustration and sleepless nights. But if 5/1 for the Champions League outright makes them ‘maybe’ winners then it’s fair. The squad is made up of rich fabrics, it’s just the knitting pattern they need now.

Equally IF La Liga slips away from them then their recent Champions League victories have often been accompanied by seasons when they haven’t had to apply all physical and attention to domestic work. They should be in the final shake-up and achieving the ‘Decima’ (their 10th title) isn’t outlandish.

This time at least Florentino is bringing us the real deal.

Zidane is back. Where he belongs.

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Spurs still retain hopes of winning the Premier League title after bouncing back from the unlucky and controversial 3-2 defeat at Manchester City with a 3-1 home win over strugglers Wigan.

City of course had slipped up against Everton in midweek but pulled eight points clear of Spurs with the 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday night.

Harry Redknapp knows that his side can ill-afford too many slip-ups but a draw may not be considered good enough when trying to claw back the deficit, even though Liverpool remain unbeaten at home.

A top-four finish was perhaps the expectation at the start of the season for the Lilywhites but, having performed so well in the league to date, barring the opening defeats against United and City, there is still enough time to land the ultimate prize in domestic football.

That used to be expected in Liverpool but their star has fallen somewhat and the Reds now face a battle to even qualify for the Champions League after making a slow start to a campaign, which began with hopes of a title tilt after a summer spending spree – added to the outlay made last January.

Inconsistency has been a problem for Dalglish’s men while a lack of goals has not helped the cause, and they could go into Monday’s fixture seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea (depending on the Blues’ result against United on Sunday).

The Reds are unbeaten at home and consequently have been installed as 11/10 favourites in the match betting, with Spurs on offer at a tempting 13/5 and the draw at 12/5 in the match betting.

Liverpool’s unbeaten home record does mask the fact that they have been held seven times at Anfield with just four wins in the 11 matches played there, scoring just 14 goals in the process.

Spurs have scored 20 on their travels and lost just three games, none of which would necessarily be considered surprising – at United, City and Stoke – while they were the last team to win at Anfield, winning 2-0 in May last season.

The north Londoners’ record is hardly great though as that win was their only one in their last 17 visits to Anfield, but this a different Spurs team and there is plenty of value about them taking something from the game.

Tottenham of course put Liverpool’s early-season pretensions into perspective with a 4-0 drubbing at White Hart Lane, and have lost only one of the last five Premier League games againstthe Reds and are looking to complete the double over them for the second consecutive season.

A lot could depend on the team news as Spurs are sweating on Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor and Rafael van der Vaart, while William Gallas and Tom Huddlestone are definitely ruled out.

Louis Saha was a deadline-day capture from Everton and could make his debut, and he is an 8/1 shot in the First/Last Goalscorer betting and 5/2 to score Anytime.

However, much of the pre-match hype is bound to surround the return of Luis Suarez (5/1 First/Last, 11/8 Anytime Goalscorer) from his lengthy ban, although whether he is thrust straight back into the team is open to question.

The Uruguayan is regarded as a key player for Liverpool but goals have been a problem this season, even for him, as he has managed just five in the top-flight this term.

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Sir Alex Ferguson

Looking ahead to an eagerly-awaited run-un, I’ll examine United’s main rivals in the battle to be England’s top dog come the end of the season.

Manchester United

It could be argued that the Premier League is United’s (8/13 Outright) to lose following that thrilling win at Bloomfield Road. Fergie’s Red Devils moved five points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table and maintained their unbeaten run from 23 games as they attempt to emulate the Gunners’ ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04.

Dimitar Berbatov’s two goals at Blackpool saw him reach 20 for the season (4/6 Premiership Top Goalscorer), while last season’s lynchpin Wayne Rooney has not even got going so far this term.

Ferguson feels the England striker is due to come good at some point and if that does happen then it would be difficult to imagine anyone denying United their championship.

The return of the Champions League in February could take its toll on the United squad in the latter stages of the domestic campaign should they progress (United 13/2 Champions League Outright).

However, the same can be said of their title rivals and United have the strength in depth to cope.

Arsenal

Gunners chief Arsene Wenger has stressed that he wants his players to try and win every tournament they are involved in with the quadruple still on the cards.

No silverware has gone to the north Londoners since 2005’s FA Cup win, but that could be put right next month when they will contest the Carling Cup final at Wembley (Arsenal 1/4 Outright).

They face Huddersfield in the FA Cup this Sunday and also have the Champions League knockout stage to look forward to next month.

Arsenal’s young squad has suffered mentally under the pressure towards the end of recent seasons and that has resulted in their downfall.

However, success in the Carling Cup on February 27 could get the monkey off their back in terms of winning some silverware which could help them for the final two months of the league season.

The main problem for the Gunners is consistency – which they appear to have found of late with three 3-0 wins in their last four league games – as they will no doubt look back at costly home defeats to West Brom and Newcastle earlier in the season should they fall short again (Arsenal 13/5 Outright).

Manchester City

Roberto Mancini’s main remit for the season was to secure Champions League qualification for City (1/7 Top 4 Finish) and end the club’s long wait for some silverware.

However, as the campaign has progressed into 2011, many feel the men from Eastlands are still very much embroiled in a fight for the title (12/1 Outright) as they sit six points behind United, but having played one game more.

Inconsistency and a leaky defence is City’s main problem ‘ a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa and conceding three goals at home to Wolves recently highlights this perfectly.

However, City have always led from the front and the recent arrival of Bosnian hitman Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg could be they key to them keeping the pressure on.

If Dzeko hits the ground running then he could add a few more points on the board, while the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Saturday February 12 could make or break their bid.

City’s other problem is their desperation to win a trophy could see them push too hard in the FA Cup and Europa League which might distract them from the bread and butter of the Premier League.

Chelsea

Chelsea’s shocking run of form in recent weeks looks to have put a spanner in their title ambitions (7/1 Premier League Outright) as they sit 10 points behind United and are in fourth spot.

However, following their spell of just one win in nine league games, Carlo Ancelotti’s men got back into the goals with a 7-0 thrashing of Championship side Ipswich in the FA Cup third round.

They have not looked back since with a 2-0 win against Blackburn at Stamford Bridge followed up by Monday’s 4-0 thumping of Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.

Many observers are claiming the age of Chelsea’s key men is catching up with them this season.

However, to counter that you could say the reigning champions have the experience of what is required to win games when the nerves start to kick in during the run-in.

John Terry rightly pointed out that they still have Manchester United to play twice and, should they win both of those matches, the gap could be down to four points.

But, with the Champions League described by Frank Lampard described as the ‘Holy Grail’ for the west Londoners, it would be no surprise if they focused their attentions on success in Europe (Chelsea 9/2 Champions League Outright) this season and just ensure themselves a top-four spot in the Premier League.

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Manchester City

The Blues took the lead thanks to a penalty from Carlos Tevez who smashed the ball down the centre of the goal.

The Argentina striker was fouled for the penalty however there was some debate whether the tackle was inside the box as the forward ran in on goal.

City’s lead did not last for long as they conceded a goal by Jonas Gutierrez just six minutes after the penalty from Tevez.

The Blues had to work hard in a tightly fought contest and they got their rewards thanks to a great strike from substitute Adam Johnson who cut in from the right wing to fire a shot past Tim Krul.

Kidd was pleased by his side’s effort to win the three points which puts them second place in the Premier League.

He said: “I think that sums us up, if you want to win in the Premier League you have to dig results out.

“We knew we weren’t really at it in the first half. But that was the pleasing thing, because the players responded.

“What is pleasing is that the players have shown that there is substance in the result. You know you’ve got a chance when you’ve got that in the squad,” he added.

City had a slow start to the Premier League campaign after a defeat to Sunderland and draws with Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn.

However the club’s star-studded side look like they are starting to gel in recent games with wins against defending Premier League champions Chelsea and Wigan Athletic.

Kidd believes that City boss Roberto Mancini deserves credit for making the change that helped his side break the deadlock against the Magpies.

He said: “Tactically he changed it two or three times.

“Credit must go to the boss – he went for it. I think his substitutions and tactics proved that.

“We’ve gone second in the league now. Over 38 games you get games like that, that are not for the purists,” he added.

City (13/2 to win the FA Cup) will to continue their good form in the Premier League as they next face Blackpool on October 17 which will be no easy game after the Seasiders pulled off a shock 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

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