A palpable, evident sense of hope floated in the crisp winter air over the training ground of Real Madrid yesterday.
Around 6,000 fans - mostly excited schoolchildren still on holiday - queued up to watch Cristiano Ronaldo and company train.
What was the reason for all this enthusiasm and turmoil? The appointment of former Real idol Zinedine Zidane as first team coach, as replacement for the unpopular Rafa Benitez.
Rarely in Spanish football has a change of coach brought such a loud sigh of collective relief.
“Real Madrid needed some kind of change. The club needed new hope and direction,” commented radio station Cadena SER.
“Everyone at the club - players, fans, journalists - was fed up with Benitez. He simply didn’t transmit charisma and hope.
“Whether Zidane turns out to be the solution for all the club’s problems remains to be seen. But at least he has brought back a bit of excitement.”
Monday’s sacking of the embattled Benitez was clearly a chronicle of a death foretold. His appointment, seven months ago, was a controversial, unpopular move by club president Florentino Perez, as most players and fans wanted Carlo Ancelotti to stay at the helm.
Benitez was condemned not only by his poor results - Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Valencia followed defeats against Villarreal, Barcelona and Sevilla - but also by his dour image and his patchy relationship with the players.
Several senior players reportedly asked Perez at Christmas to bring in Zidane for Benitez. These players lined up excitedly to shake hands with Zidane Tuesday, at the start of the well-attended training session.
Zidane was one of Perez’s much-vaunted ‘Galactico’ stars from 2001 to 2006 - along with Luis Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham - and earned the adulation of the fans with a spectacular winning goal in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
Perez persuaded Zidane to return to the club in 2011, and since then has fulfilled various roles at the club: special adviser, sporting director, assistant coach and, most recently, coach of the Castilla nursery side, though without much success.
Perez said Monday he had “total confidence” in Zidane, despite the 43 year-old’s lack of top-flight coaching experience.
“For him (Zidane), the word “impossible” does not exist,” Perez said.
“He is one of the great figures in the history of football ... He has faced important challenges throughout his life, with dedication and talent. He has our total confidence and support.”
Zidane, who helped France to win the World Cup in 1998, is the first Frenchman to coach Real.
“Thank you for this important opportunity,” he replied to Perez.
“Now we have to do our best with the team until the end of the season. I think everything will turn out well.
“The important thing is to start work with the squad tomorrow. I am very excited, even more than when I first came here as a player. I am going to put my whole heart into this job.”
However, not everyone is convinced of Zidane’s capacity to turn around the situation of a team that has badly flopped in most important matches this season.
An online poll taken by Marca showed yesterday that only 43 per cent of readers believe Zidane “to have the capacity” to occupy what has become a very difficult bench in recent years.
“After the honeymoon is over, Zidane will surely find it difficult to please a man (Perez) who has sacked 10 other coaches in 12 years,” commented Radio Marca.
On the other hand, Cadena COPE expressed the hope that Zidane will turn out to be Real Madrid’s answer to Pep Guardiola, who was only 37 and with hardly any coaching experience when promoted by Barcelona in 2008 - with astonishing results.
Zidane’s assistant will be former Real team-mate Santiago Solari, who at 39 is four years younger than the Frenchman.
Zidane’s first game in charge will be at home to Deportivo La Coruna Saturday.
Real are four points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and two behind Barca, who have a game in hand.
However, Zidane has a relatively benign calendar ahead of him. In addition, he can focus exclusively on La Liga - until February’s Champions League round of 16 against Roma - because the Whites have been thrown out of the Spanish Cup for fielding the ineligible Denis Cheryshev in December, something that might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.