Zinédine Zidane, the architect of the three Champions League wins in a row by Real Madrid between 2015 and 2018, has not trained for two years. The Frenchman left the white bench at the end of the 2020-21 season, tired of everything that football entails beyond the ball, but after these years of reflection and rest, the former player is already longing for “the adrenaline” of the competition.
“Do I miss the adrenaline of the highest level? Yes, of course. When you’re outside, you look at it differently. I haven’t had that for 2 years, but it will come,” he said in an interview for Téléfoot the Frenchman, who during this time has sounded for various top-level European clubs, even to undertake his fourth spell at the Madrid club, the third as a coach.
Precisely, Zidane is full of praise for two of those who were his pupils in Madrid. “If there is a player who lifts me out of my chair, that is Karim Benzema. Perhaps also Luka Modric, players who, when they have the ball, you think they are going to lose it, but no, they always manage to get away with it”, explained del Croatian, still pending his renewal with the whites, and about his compatriot, a new Saudi Al Hilal player.
Regarding Madrid’s current affairs, the coach endorsed the signing of Englishman Jude Bellingham, for which the Chamartín club has paid 103 million plus 30% in variables to Borussia Dortmund. “He is an important player with a future, he is ready to play for Real Madrid,” he said of the Briton, who will wear Zizou’s number ‘5’.
And from a confirmed white signing to another that could be a reality in the near future, that of Kylian Mbappé. “I admire him a lot. What he does is incredible, I hope he wins a lot of Ballon d’Ors. What he does is fantastic for his club and for the French team”, he praised his compatriot, as well as assessing the possibility of training in France: ” You can’t say no to anything. I know what I want and what I don’t want. If I’ve decided to take a break, it’s because I should have. I hope I can tell myself that I’ll be able to train again soon.”
