DUBAI // Luis Figo says he is shocked by how quickly former Real Madrid Madrid teammate Zinedine Zidane has taken to management.
The Madrid manager, one of the finest players in the club’s history, had been a huge success since succeeding Rafael Benitez at the beginning of last year, guiding the team to an 11th Uefa Champions League crown in May.
In doing so, Zidane became the seventh man to win European club football’s elite competition as a player and a manager, having scored the winner for Madrid in the 2002 final.
This season, the Frenchman remains on course for a repeat, since Madrid have one foot in the quarter-finals after defeating Napoli 3-1 in last month’s first leg of their last-16 tie. No team has successfully defended the trophy in the Champions League era.
Zidane, 44, could be set for a double triumph, with Madrid currently leading the Primera Liga by one point from rivals Barcelona after 24 rounds. The capital club have a game in hand following December’s march to the Fifa Club World Cup crown — a run that helped Madrid go 40 matches undefeated and, in the process, set a new record for a Spanish side.
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Understandably, Figo has watched with interest Zidane’s rapid progression as manager. The Portuguese, in Dubai on Wednesday to promote the third-season launch of regional television programme The Victorious, played alongside the World Cup winner at the Bernabeu between 2001 and 2005.
However, when asked if he expected Zidane to even become a manager, Figo said: “No. But he’s doing great so I’m happy for him. Sometimes when you play with teammates, you see characteristics of ones who on the pitch are probably more coach than the others. And I never saw that he was following this area.
“But it looks like he likes it, he decided to be a coach and since he picked the team he’s achieving fantastic results. He must be a good coach, must be a person who manages well the players, understands football, has a lot of experience and the results are there. So I’m happy for him.”
Figo’s sentiments were echoed by Michel Salgado, another former teammate of Zidane’s. The former Spain international defender, who lives in Dubai, spent five years at Madrid with Zidane and is regularly in touch with the club now. Much like Figo, Salgado did not expect Zidane to take up management, but he too has been pleasantly surprised by his 14 months in the dugout.
“I totally agree — neither did I,” Salgado said. “I remember Zidane said to us that he would never be a coach. But that’s what happens with players when we get out of football, get out of the competition and are very tired. Maybe the first year you’re in a really tough situation: you don’t know what to do; you’re out of your depth, because you don’t know what’s happening about your future. You don’t know if you’re going to like coaching, grass-roots football or TV or the media.”
Zidane called time on his illustrious playing career aged 34 and following his sending off in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, but returned to Madrid in 2010, first in an advisory role, before becoming sporting director and then assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti. In 2014, he was appointed manager of Madrid’s B team, Real Madrid Castilla.
“So finally after two years Zidane found a way to make it through management,” Salgado said. “He missed the competition so much. To be honest, I think he retired early and for me that’s the reason he came back really quickly to coach. I know he’s a competitive guy, in training and playing.
“Maybe you feel that he’s shy, but he’s not. Maybe he’s shy to people, but then when he plays or when he trains he’s not. He’s a really, really competitive guy and he’s got a character in there.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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