Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions league last season and ran Barcelona all the way to the end in the race for the title. What started as a living nightmare for Madrid fans ended in glee and ecstasy.
Rafa Benitez was appointed as the manager by Florentino Perez for the 2015/16 season, and it turned out to be a big mistake with Real Madrid being humiliated by the Catalans in the first Clasico of the season at the Bernabeu.
Fast forward 6 months, Zidane had come in and completely changed the mood at the club. Zidane achieved the rare feat of winning the UEFA Champions League both as a player and as a manager of Los Blancos.
Despite the UEFA Champions League being the biggest prize in Europe Zidane has other priorities this season. Speaking ahead of Madrid's opener against Real Sociedad tonight he said,
“This league is very important. Then there's the Champions League and the Copa del Rey but the truth is LaLiga is very important. It's our main goal because this is the competition where you have to be the most consistent.”
Zidane’s prioritisation of the league ahead of other competitions is a sign of how dominant Barcelona have been in the league in recent seasons. Since 2008, the club have only managed to win the league once under Jose Mourinho in 2012.
Madrid have already picked up their first silverware of the season with the UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla. Los Blancos will be without Cristiano Ronaldo for the opener but Zidane has a lot of options and it's a chance for the youngsters to showcase their talents.
“The team have started great and are well prepared, All the players dream of winning the league but it will be a tough year and we are ready."The fight begins against La Real, who are very good and dangerous at home."
Ronaldo not to be rushed back into action
Ronaldo has returned to training but Zidane remains cautious of rushing the Portuguese back into action after his excursions at the Euros. He was taken off in the first half of the final after suffering a thigh strain.
Zidane gave an indication of how soon he will play the forward, “I cannot give you a concrete date as to when Ronaldo will be back. He has returned to the pitch and is training with the ball, which is a good sign.”
Youngster Marco Asensio might start for Madrid after impressing in pre-season. The Spaniard showed he has some serious talent and could make the fans forget about the lack of investment this season.
