Zidane Hopes To Subdue Bayern In Bernabeu
Zinedine Zidane may have won two
consecutive Champions League titles but he refuses to admit a third is possible
in his era at Real Madrid.
Real stand on
the brink of a trio of finals ahead of their second leg against Bayern Munich
in the last four on Tuesday,
when they will carry a 2-1 lead, and two away goals, to the Santiago Bernabeu.
It makes them
favourites to go through and, for many, heavy favourites to win the tournament
after already beating Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in the knock-out stages.
Read also : Ribery Extends Bayern Stay
For Zidane, a
third European crown as coach is now in sight, which would put him level with
Carlo Ancelotti and Bob Paisley in the pantheon of successful managers.
Only the three
triumphs of Paisley, however, came at one club, Liverpool, and over a single
era, in 1977, 1978 and 1981. Ancelotti's treble stretched across 11 years, with
two clubs, Real and AC Milan.
"We cannot
talk about this," Zidane said on Friday. "Coaches like this were
given a lot of time; they did a lot of things.
"I am
comfortable, we have done well, and it is two and a half years that have been
good but the rest, ‘Zidane’s Real Madrid’, let’s wait a bit."
Read also : Chiellini Believes Officials Favour Madrid
Even Alex
Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola have lifted Europe's biggest prize
only twice, all with more years in management under their belts.
But Zidane's
merits as a coach and tactician continue to be downplayed, at least in part
because the Frenchman owns arguably the most talented squad in the world and,
in Cristiano Ronaldo, the Champions League's greatest ever player.
Ronaldo's 15
goals in this year's competition have certainly been key, but it was Zidane who
made the brave call to leave out Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema at the Allianz
Arena against Bayern.
The preferred
but less established duo of Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio combined
brilliantly for the winning goal, with the former also switched to right-back
late on, where he held off the threat of Franck Ribery.
Bale, harshly
treated in recent weeks, may not agree but the majority of Real's first team
are now regularly hailing Zidane's man-management, his preparation and his
tactics.
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