French legend Zinedine Zidane won the Uefa Champions League as a player for Real Madrid in 2002 but he felt it was more satisfying to win it as a manager last month as he had control over the whole team.
“It was wonderful to win the Uefa championship as a player but it is huge satisfaction to win as a manager. Training the team is amazing,” he said in an interaction here. Zidane is on his first visit to India with his wife Veronique as “wellness ambassador” of “Kanakia Paris”, a French-themed residential project coming up in Mumbai.
Zidane, who assisted Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez initially, became a full time manager in January this year and has changed the fortunes of the club who were struggling midway through the (2015-16) season.
“I was a young trainer and used my experience as a player, told them to work extra hard and to work on relationships with others in the squad. I brought passion, and knew the team and capability of the all the members. I organised the idea and players followed the direction. Even though we won the Champions League we have lot of hard work to do,” he said.
Real Madrid haven’t won a La Liga title since 2012 and the 43-year-old is not taking any pressure to lead the side to a league title next season to secure his job as a manager. “I am totally conscious about the situation. The target is to improve myelf day after day,” he said.
The former attacking mid-fielder who was instrumental in France’s World Cup win in 1998 and Euro 2000 said he would be watching the tournament in France. He also felt young France team were capable to do well and forget hard times especially aftermath of the Paris attacks.
“I will watch all the Euro matches with attention. There will be no tension among the players. It will be a bonus for them to play in their own country. There will be no additional pressure and it will be like 12 players on the field with all the support. It is an excellent team and they have to show their level and capacity,” he said.
Zidane felt Belgium would be a team to watch in the competition if they could click together. “Belgium have an excellent team if they play together and deliver the best game, they can be the team to watch,” he said.
He felt it would be great for Christiano Ronaldo if he won the cup for Portugal.
