Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone are set to face each other in the Madrid derby on Saturday, and they could not enter the tie in more conflicting forms, but who has the better derby record?
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Real Madrid have lost just lost one LaLiga game all season, and are unbeaten in their past 20 matches across all competitions, while Atletico have lost three out of their past four games.
The two coaches have met several times in the Madrid derby, with their head-to-head rivalry going back to their playing days.
The French and Argentine icons have met in the Madrid derby on 11 occasions, 10 times as coaches and once as players, in 2003 when Los Blancos won 2-0 to shift their overall head-to-head record as players in Zidane's favour.
Beyond the Spanish capital, they also faced off a further eight times during their playing days in Italy, where Zidane featured for Juventus and Simeone represented Inter Milan and Lazio.
Their final head-to-head record as players, taking into account their appearances in Serie A, ended with four wins for Zidane, two draws and three wins for Simeone.
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The rivalry moves to the dugout
The abovementioned 2003 derby came at a time when Los Blancos dominated the fixture. Real went without losing to their neighbours from 1999 to 2013, but Simeone was the man to turn the tide, leading his side to victory in the 2013 Copa del Rey final.
From that day on, the initiative looked to be in Atleti's hands, and Zidane actually lost his first derby as Real Madrid coach: a 1-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 2015/16 campaign.
Today, though, the French tactician has the edge with four victories, four draws and two defeats in his head-to-head battle with Simeone. Zidane's second defeat, though, did not really feel like a loss as the 2-1 result came in the second leg of their 2016/17 UEFA Champions League semi-final, with Real advancing to the final 4-2 on aggregate anyway.
The Champions League final between these two tacticians also fell in Zidane's favour, with Real winning the 2015/16 decider in Milan against their city rivals on penalties. So, too, did the most recent derby, with Los Blancos running out winners in the Spanish Super Cup final, again on penalties after the sides could not be separated over 120 minutes.
Interestingly, the four draws between these coaches have all come in the league. There have been six LaLiga meetings between them, with the first being an Atletico win, the second going to Real and the last four finishing with the spoils being shared.
It promises to be another tight affair when these two giants meet again on 1 February, the 12th derby meeting between these two LaLiga icons.
Zidane or Simeone – who will come out on top in the Madrid derby on Saturday? Have your say in the comments section below.
