Why Zinedine Zidane is the right man to manage Florentino Perez's Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane may be a gamble, but for Real Madrid, he is the most calculated of risks and truly the best man to serve under club president Florentio Perez.

"As president it is an honour to have you at my side because I know for you the word 'impossible' doesn't exist," Perez said at Zidane’s introductory press conference on Monday.

Since the start of Perez’s second spell as president of Real Madrid, Zidane has been a figure lurking just outside the shadows and waiting to take full hold of the spotlight. If anyone would be fit to take charge of Real Madrid for an extended period of time and avoid Perez’s famous ax, Zidane would be that man.

Perez first brought Zidane to Real Madrid in 2001 as a player by setting a new international transfer fee of 75 million euros. In his first season at the Santiago Bernabeu, Zidane led Real Madrid to the Champions League title after hitting a venomous volley for the match-winning goal in the final. He had a knack for scoring in big moments (Zidane holds the joint record for most goals in the World Cup final with three), but his everyday genius and incredible ball control made him a fan and club favorite.

Zidane, as a player, would retire from club football in 2006 as a member of Real Madrid, but he would not make his return to the club until Perez reassumed power in 2009. Perez initially brought back the beloved Frenchman in a role described simply as “Advisor to the President.”

A year later, Zidane took the title of “presidential advisor” to Real Madrid’s first team and began working with manager Jose Mourinho. Considering Zidane’s status at the club and with Perez, he could never have truly been considered Mourinho’s subordinate. After getting frustrated with the Portuguese’s mental games, Zidane distanced himself from Mourinho and receded into working with the youth teams. That experience sparked enough of an interest to instantly make Zidane an assistant coach for new manager Carlo Ancelotti in 2013.

"He was a fantastic player, and now’s he’s decided to become a coach," Ancelotti said about Zidane at the time. "The only problem for me is that he can't still play."

Wildly beloved by Real Madrid and just about anyone old enough to watch him play, “Zizou” acted more as a sporting director than a mere assistant coach. He helped in bringing in Rafael Varane, Isco and Gareth Bale, as Zidane's reputation and persona attracted players and expanded his role far beyond simply an assistant on the bench when Real Madrid captured La Decima – its 10th European final in the 2014 Champions League final.

After Zidane had spent a season and a half managing Real Madrid Castilla, Perez decided to finally roll the dice with his lucky charm waiting in the wings. On the first Monday of 2016, Perez introduced Zidane as the new manager of Real Madrid’s first team.

With Monday's appointment, Zidane becomes the 11th manager over the 12 years Perez has been in power, though Perez had a lengthy break in between. To be frank, neither of Zidane’s previous two predecessors deserved to be sacked, as Benitez only suffered three defeats in 25 official matches and Ancelotti got sacked only one season after breaking a 12-year Champions League title drought.

Criticizing Zidane for his lack of experience is slightly reckless. In terms of relevant work experience, no one is a better fit than Zizou. In order to succeed at Real Madrid, a manager must clearly have Perez’s support. Like seemingly no one else, Zidane has that.

Zidane has worked at Real Madrid under Perez since 2009 in a variety of coaching and consulting capacities, and that fact alone separates him from any other available candidate and immediately makes him the most qualified man for the job.

That said, Zidane is not exactly a technical toddler. He has worked alongside great managers like Ancelotti and Mourinho and played under World Cup winning managers Vicente del Bosque and Marcello Lippi. At last check, Real Madrid Castilla sat in second place in the third-tier of Spanish football, which demonstrates that Zidane is not entirely inept on the bench as the main man either.

In truth, Zidane has limited coaching experience, but his technical understanding should be up to speed, and he already has relationships with the players. If nothing else, Zidane has always seemed like a natural leader that accumulates followers wherever he goes.

While he may not have experience managing his own team at the highest levels of the game, Zidane is hardly a novice on the bench at Real Madrid. Perhaps most importantly, he’s an expert with Perez, and that could well be the most important job qualification. Believe it or not, Zidane is the right man for Real Madrid.

Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass