SYDNEY // Zinedine Zidane will be a “top-class manager”, former France coach Gerard Houllier predicted on Wednesday, saying the football legend had taken all the right steps before becoming Real Madrid boss.
The 43-year-old former ‘galactico’ with Real Madrid was appointed manager at the Primera Liga club on Monday following the sacking of Rafa Benitez after just seven months in charge.
Houllier, who is in Sydney as coach of a Liverpool “legends” side playing on Thursday, said the former attacking midfielder Zidane – whom he coached as manager of the French national side in the early 1990s – had bided his time before assuming the top job at the Spanish side.
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“He did the right thing. He became an assistant manager first, then he became the coach of the second team [Castilla] for two years,” Houllier said.
“Don’t forget, he left the international scene in 2006, now we are in 2016, so it’s 10 years. So you wouldn’t say he’s jumped from the playing career to the coaching career.”
Spanish media have said that Zidane, a controversial appointment whose only previous coaching job was in charge of Madrid’s ‘B’ team Castilla, will have his work cut out because of a lack of experience.
Zidane on Tuesday also acknowledged that a “difficult” challenge lay ahead.
But Houllier said a run of good results would help to strengthen the Frenchman’s position.
“It’s probably more pressure [to coach a big club],” said Houllier, who managed Liverpool from 1998 to 2004. “But if he makes it a success, if he wins a cup or finishes in second [after Barcelona]... I’m sure that at some stage he will become a top-class manager.”
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
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Results for Stage 2
Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
Overall leader: Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Fernando Gaviria COL (UAE Team Emirates) 2. Elia Viviani ITA (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 3. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal)
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
