It was under Zinedine Zidane, however, that Marcelo reached his zenith. In the three-peat Champions League winning side (2016, 2017, 2018), Marcelo was the engine of the left flank. He formed a telepathic partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo, overlapping, underlapping, and creating overloads that terrified defenses. His technical ability—elite close control, no-look passes, and the "Trivela" (curling the ball with the outside of his foot)—made him a playmaker from full-back.
Mourinho famously quipped that having Marcelo was like “playing with 12 men in attack but 10 in defense.” Rather than trying to turn him into a stoic Italian defender, Mourinho built a system that allowed Marcelo to roam forward, knowing the midfield would cover. Marcelo
He leaves the game as the standard-bearer for the attacking full-back—a role now filled by the likes of Alphonso Davies and Theo Hernandez, who all walk in the path Marcelo helped pave. It was under Zinedine Zidane, however, that Marcelo