Roma and real madrid say thank you to their coaches respectively

Both clubs are a far cry from the teams led by Rudi Garcia and Rafael Benitez during a pre-season friendly just nine months ago and newly appointed coaches Luciano Spalletti and Zinedine Zidane have already had a big impact.

AsRomawelcome Real Madrid to the Stadio Olimpico in theChampions Leagueon Wednesday, both sides will see a different coach on the bench to the one who guided them through the group stages.Whilst Real Madrid soared through the group stages unbeaten and with five wins out ofsix, it wasn’t enough for former coach Rafael Benitez tokeep his job. Los Merengues trounced Malmo 8-0 and picked up four points from superstar-laden Paris Saint-Germain, yet ultimately it was the Spaniard’s tension with senior players and an unfavourable style of football which cost him.

Roma, on the other hand, were in freefall under Rudi Garcia. Dropping out of theSerie Atitle race in spectacular fashion, the Giallorossi scraped through to the knockout rounds of the Champions League with a record low six points, a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Barcelona contested a shock 3-2 defeat to minnows BATE Borisov for the title of the lowest point of the campaign.After suffering the ignominy of being dumped out of the Coppa Italia by lowly Spezia, Garcia was living on borrowed time. With only a single league win in seven, the former Lille boss wasduly sackedin January and replaced by Luciano Spalletti.
Since the two dismissals, the clubs have seen something of a turnaround. Under former Juventus star Zidane, Real have shed any signs of defensive tactics, with the Frenchman’s tenure yielding a phenomenal 23 goals in just six league games. Indeed, the 10 time European champions have scored five or more goals in half of those fixtures.More importantly, Los Blancos have won all but one of Zidane’s matches in charge, with a 1-1 draw away to Real Betis the only blot on his record. However, it could be argued that he has yet to be truly tested. Only two of the six games have come against teams in the top half and a reinvigorated Roma may be the first real challenge Zidane has faced.
For Spalletti, a return to the Stadio Olimpico for a second spell has seen a sole defeat, against Juventus in his second game in charge. Considering the Bianconeri are currently on a record 15 game winning run, thereis no real shame in such a defeat. More worryingly was the way in which Roma let slip a lead against lowly Hellas Verona to draw in Spalletti’s debut.Since the Juventus defeat, Roma have strung together four successive victories and have forced their way back into the reckoning for a Champions League spot. Spalletti, who coached Roma from 2005 until 2009, has brought the best out of January signing Stephan El Sharaawy and his Lupi side look much more formidable than underGarcia.
Roma have regained their fluidity of old and are seemingly playing with a confidence that was lackingunder Garcia, whose stubborn insistence on playing a rapid 4-3-3with players arguably unsuitable for the demands he was making saw the Giallorossi found out timeand again.Spalletti also has history on his side, having masterminded knockout victories over Real Madrid in his first spell at Roma. A2-1 victory at the Stadio Olimpico was followed up by a victory with the same scoreline at the SantiagoBernabeu to see Roma progress in2008 and the former Zenit St Petersburg coach will be hoping for more of the same this time around.With new faces and new styles on show, Roma v Real Madrid promises to be a clash far removed from what it might have been before Christmas. The accusations of defensive football have been dismissed by the Spanish outfit, whilst the Italian club have finally found some balance and form. It may boil down to Spalletti v Zidane, the difference makers in their respective clubs’ seasons.