Zinedine Zidane has quit as Real Madrid manager.
Zidane made the shock announcement on Thursday afternoon after the club called an impromptu press conference just days after they won their third consecutive Champions League.
One of the greatest footballers of all time, Zidane played for the Spanish club between 2001 and 2006 and maintained close links with Real in retirement. He took his first steps into coaching with Castilla, Madrid’s second team, in 2014. After Rafa Benitez was sacked as first-team manager in January 2016, Zidane took charge and has helped the club to tremendous success.
In two and a half years as a manager, Zidane has won three European Cups, the La Liga title and two Club World Cups. He walks away from the club at a high point after Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final in Kiev. He is just the third manager to win three European Cups – after Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti – and won’t be short of options now he has stepped away from Madrid. It seems inevitable that he will become France manager at some point.
Zidane explained his decision to quit Real in the press conference on Thursday. As reported by Spanish football journalist Dermot Corrigan, Zidane told reporters that the team needs “another voice, another way of working.”
Zidane: "This is the right moment for everyone, it might seem a bit strange, but it had to be done for the good of everyone, the players, the club, and myself. This team must keep winning, and it needs a change after three years, another voice, another method of working."
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) May 31, 2018
The Frenchman said that his decision was made with the best intentions of the team in mind.
Zidane: “I am doing this for the good of this team, for this club. It would have been difficult for me to win again next year. There have been good moments, but also difficult times. I do not forget that. And at this club you must know this."
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) May 31, 2018
And that he’s not walking away from coaching, just the Real job.
It appears he felt his natural cycle as Madrid coach had ended, and it was better to quit at the top.
After the success he had with the club in recent seasons, he has probably made a wise choice to leave now.
Zidane: “There are many reasons for this. I am not tired of coaching, after three years. But it is the moment to [leave] here.”
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) May 31, 2018
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