MADRID // Zinedine Zidane promised Tuesday to make up for his lack of coaching experience by inspiring Real Madrid to play with the same attacking flair he displayed during his playing career.
“Football with a personal touch, with attacking play, is what I’ll aim for,” the France great said at a news conference, a day after replacing the fired Rafa Benitez as Madrid coach.
“A coach is never really prepared, least of all one who hasn’t coached before. But I am motivated, excited, and that is going to ensure that things go well,” he said. “I always believe that it’s important to play attractive, but balanced football, and I am going to work to get that on the pitch.”
Zidane, 43, a three-time Fifa World Player of the Year and former Real Madrid star, had coached Real Madrid’s reserve team in Spain’s third division for the past year and a half. He agreed to the promotion to coach the first team for the rest of this season, plus two more years.
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Zidane’s first game as coach will be on Saturday against Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league. Madrid trail leaders Atletico Madrid by four points and are two points behind defending champions Barcelona, who have a game in hand.
Zidane said he would continue to play Madrid’s three star forwards – Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale – although the coach said Bale was not happy with Benitez’s firing.
“I understand Gareth may be upset at Rafa’s departure, but he will be treated with affection. He’s a fundamental player,” Zidane said.
Zidane previously served as assistant to Madrid coaches Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti. He served under Ancelotti during Madrid’s Uefa Champions League title run in 2014, and he knows most of the current squad.
Spanish talk radio did not wait long to start making hopeful comparisons between Zidane and former Barcelona player-turned-coach Pep Guardiola.
Zidane dismissed the comparison.
“Guardiola is Guardiola, and I am going to try and do it the best I can,” he said. “I never compared myself to others as a player, and I won’t do it as a coach.”
Earlier, the club said more than 6,000 fans turned out to watch Zidane take charge during Madrid’s traditional open first practice session of the year.
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Zidane was named manager on Monday when Benitez was fired midway through his first season. Many Madrid fans and the local media were left lukewarm by Benitez’s more defensive approach, exemplified by his conservative substitutions, such as removing Benzema in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Valencia.
Zidane helped Madrid win the 2002 Champions League with a memorable goal in the final and led France to the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000. However, he blemished his otherwise stellar career with a butt of an Italian opponent in the 2006 World Cup final, earning a red card in his last international match.
Marco Materazzi, the recipient of Zidane’s infamous butt, wished the Frenchman well.
"The weight of Zidane's personality will hold weight in the changing room," Materazzi told the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But it's not going to be a walk in the park for him. For great players that become coaches, after two or three matches they're already condemned to produce results. Anyhow, without being ironic, I wish him ... good luck."
Zidane will look to restore harmony among his players, including James Rodriguez and Isco, who lost starting berths under Benitez, and to win over the Madrid fans still angered by a 4-0 loss to Barcelona in November and disqualification from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.
David Beckham, a former teammate of Zidane from Madrid’s group of “galaticos,” backed the move that some in Spain deem risky. He called Zidane “the best person for the job.”
“Does it get any better than this?” Beckham wrote on Facebook. “A man that has been the best at a game we all love, taking over of a club that myself and many more people love.”
But as recent predecessor Jose Mourinho, Ancelotti, and now Benitez, all learnt, Madrid president Florentino Perez will accept nothing short of a major title at the end of each season.
That means Zidane must find a way for Madrid to topple Barcelona as either European or Spanish champions. Barcelona have dominated both competitions, with four Champions League trophies in the last decade and five Liga crowns to Madrid’s one in the last seven seasons.
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