Zinedine Zidane goes into the duels of the two elite teams in the Champions League round of 16 with the greatest possible recognition for Pep Guardiola.
Madrid – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane goes into the Champions League round of sixteen with the greatest possible appreciation for his Spanish colleague Pep Guardiola of English football champions Manchester City.
“It will be special for me. I have played against him many times before. I respected him a lot as a player and now as a coach. He’s the best coach in the world,” Zidane said at the Royal’s press conference ahead of Sunday’s league match against Athletic Bilbao.
Meeting of two coaching giants
According to Zidane, Madrid’s star ensemble around German international Toni Kroos is already eagerly awaiting comparisons with the team of Bayern Munich’s former championship coach (February 26 and March 17). “We are all looking forward to playing against his team,” the Frenchman described his team’s motivation for the upcoming matches in the premier class.
Zidane won the most important title in European club football three times between 2016 and 2018 with Real as just the third coach. Guardiola led FC Barcelona to the European throne twice. Both also belong to the elite circle of only seven coaches who, prior to their at least two successes in the premier league as coaches, also won the Champions League twice as players.