Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane opened up about his life as a manager and the monumental pressure which comes with it in an interview with lifestyle magazine GQ. The Frenchman is supposedly set to feature on the cover of the magazine’s next month edition.
Zidane has had a reasonable start to his career as Real Madrid’s manager as the Los Blancos have won six matches out of the eight played in all competitions under his guidance. The players have also come out and heaped praise on the 43-year-old and his methods since his appointment as the manager after Rafa Benitez’s sacking.
The World Cup winner was quizzed as to how is he finding the job of a coach at such a big club and how is his relationship with the players. In reply to which Zidane said, “As a coach I think I understand what my players need and when I’m required to intervene.
“Simply being there for them can be enough and certain problems don’t need to be talked over too much. Sometimes good communication means knowing when to shut up. And that’s something I’m very good at”.
Zidane stressed that though the task on hand is a difficult one, he will find his way through it. He was confident that he will lead the club on the right path.
“I know what I want. It’ll be tricky but I’m up to the task,” he said.
Aging doesn’t bother me: Zidane
The Marseille-born midfielder had a glorious career where he won various accolades. Along with the World Cup in 1998, Zidane won the UEFA Champions League with Real in 2002. He was also named FIFA World player of the year thrice in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
The former Real Madrid Castilla coach retired after the head-butt fiasco in the World Cup final 2006, a match which France lost to Italy. Since his retirement, Zidane has played in various charity matches and he was also set to lead the World XI against David Beckham’s Great Britain and Ireland XI in a charity match at Old Trafford last year. However, he withdrew from the match after the Paris attacks.
When Zidane was questioned as to how his body is coping with the non-playing life, he said, “My body isn’t what it used to be. I don’t have the stamina I had before. Now when I play a match, even if it’s a veteran game, I ache all over afterwards and it takes me a long time to recover.
“But aging doesn’t bother me. I never had any problems when I started losing my hair, I know myself very well”.
Quite naturally, questions regarding his retirement were thrown at him to which the Frenchman replied, “I could have stayed on for a couple more years but I thought I might lack the adrenaline needed for the big games. I made my decision. It was easier to do it that way than have someone tell me “your days are numbered”.
