La Liga
Zinedine Zidane’s full letter to Real Madrid fans
Dear Madridistas,
For the last 20 years, ever since the first day I stepped my foot down in the city of Madrid and put on the white shirt I’ve felt your affection. I’ve always felt there was something very special between us. I’ve had the great honour of being a player and coach of the most important club of all-time, but first of all I’m a Madridista like the rest of you. That’s why I wanted to write this letter to you to say goodbye to you all and explain my decision to step down as coach.
When in March 2019 I accepted the offer to return to Real Madrid after eight months of rest it was because Florentino Perez asked me to, of course, but it was also because you fans asked me to do so every day. Whenever I ran into a Real Madrid fan on the street I felt the support and desire to see me with the team again. Because I share the values of Madridismo, this club owned by its members, its fans, by everyone. I’ve tried to transmit this values in everything I’ve done, I’ve always tried to be an example.
Spending 20 years at Real Madrid is the most beautiful thing that has happened in my life and I owe everything exclusively to Florentino Perez, who bet on me in 2001, who fought for me, to make me come to the club when certain people were against it. I say this from the bottom of my hear, I’ll always be grateful to the president for that. Always.
Now I’ve decided to leave and I wanted to explain to you well my reasons.
I’m leaving but I’m not abandoning the ship and I’m not tired of coaching.
In May 2018 I left because after two and a half years of so many victories and trophies I felt the team needed a new plan to stay at the highest level. Today things are different.
I’m leaving because I feel that the club didn’t give me the support I needed, it didn’t offer me the support the construct a project for the medium or long term.
I understand football and know the demands of a club like Real Madrid, I know that when you don’t win things you have to leave. But here they have forgotten something very important, they have forgotten everything we built each day, everything I contributed to the relationship with the players, with the 150 people who work with and around the team.
I’m a natural winner and I was here to win trophies but beyond that you have human beings, emotions and life and I got the impression that these things were not being appreciated, and people forgot that’s how you maintain the dynamic of a great club. I even felt in a certain way that I was being reproached.
I want people to respect what everyone together achieved. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president in the last few months to have been a little different to that of other coaches. I didn’t ask for privileges, of course not, just for people to have better memories.
These days, the lifespan of a coach at a big club is around two years, not much more. To last longer human relations are essential, they are more important than money, more important than reputation, more important than anything. You have to look after them. That’s why it hurt so much when I read in the press, after one defeat, that I was going to be sacked if I didn’t win the next game. It hurt me and all my team because these messages that were intentionally leaked to the media created negative feelings with the squad, they created doubts and misunderstandings.
At least I had some marvellous lads that would stand with me until death. When things got ugly they saved me with great victories. Because they believed in me and they knew I believed in them.Of course I’m not the best coach in the world, but I’m capable of giving each one the strength and confidence they need at work, be they players, coaching staff or any employee. I know perfectly well what a team needs. In the roughly 20 years I’ve spent at Real Madrid I’ve learned that you guys, the fans, you want to win, of course. But above all you want us, the coach, the staff, the workers and of course the footballers, to give everything. And I can assure you that we gave 100% of ourselves for the club.
I also want to use this letter to send a message to the journalists. I’ve done hundreds of press conferences and unfortunately we’ve spoken very little about football and I know you love football too, this sport which unites us all. However, without wanting to criticise you or give lessons I would have liked it if your questions weren’t always directed towards controversy, I would have liked us to talk more about the ball and above all the players, who are and always will be the most important thing in this game. Let’s not forget about football, let’s look after football.
Dear Madridistas, I’ll always be one of you.
¡Hala Madrid!
Zinedine Zidane
Raphinha knew there was no reason to panic as Barcelona struggled to break down Espanyol on Thursday and said it was only a matter of time before the “golden feet” of Lamine Yamal steered them to a title-winning victory with a glorious goal.
Yamal, 17, took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner to break the deadlock early in the second half.
The stunning strike set Barca on course for a 2-0 win that secured the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid seven points back with only two games left to play.
“We didn’t have many clear chances but we have a kid in there who sometimes pulls something out of the golden feet he has and he gave us peace of mind to stay in the game more calmly,” Raphinha said.
“In January some people were saying we would fight to be third. We have confidence in ourselves. That’s the key. We trust in the work and in what we know we can do.”
Raphinha has scored 18 league goals this season, including a brace in Saturday’s crucial 4-3 win over Real Madrid, and was quick to credit the trust shown in him by coach Hansi Flick.
The Brazilian tripled his goal tally from last season and also has the third-highest number of assists in the competition with nine, three less than leader Yamal.
“The most important thing was the confidence of the coach. Knowing at the start of the season that he was counting on me, a person who controls the team … it changes you in the end,” he said.
-Reuters
Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the next Real Madrid manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media reported on Monday.
Alonso, 43, is expected to replace current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up for the vacant Brazil job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, soccer sources told Reuters.
Despite the Italian having a year remaining on his contract, Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.
Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, multiple media reports said.
Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.
Reports of Ancelotti’s likely departure come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophyless season.
The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles, the latest of which came last season.
He is the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Arsenal and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.
-Reuters
Schmuelgen/File Photo
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It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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