Zidane is amongst the elite

The football world witnessed the most expensive transfer when Real Madrid signed Zidane from Juventus in 2001.
Having won the World Cup with France in 1998, Zizou was looking for further success as he joined the company of the 'Galacticos'.
He retired a legend at Real after helping them win the 2002 Champions League with a thunderous left foot volley.
Nobody back then knew what an impact the man would have on the club's history.
After sacking Rafael Benitez mid season, Real Madrid appointed its Castilla coach Zidane at the helm of the main team, a team full of superstars. As inexperienced as he may have been, he managed every player carefully to yield success within half-a-season. At the end of his six months in charge, Real had won the Champions League and beaten Barcelona at Camp Nou to push the La liga race right to the end of the wire.
As the 16/17 season started, the team was missing a few players due to injury. So he gave opportunity to young talents like Asensio and Lucas Vazquez and won the UEFA Super Cup.
As the season progressed, he intelligently rested his millionaire first team players against their willingness to play every match. The outcome? Real went unbeaten in all competitions until January. The youngsters were given more time on the pitch and players like Ronaldo were not used as frequently as every game.
When the crunch time of the season arrived, the team was ready at full strength to go all out on achieving success in the league as well as Europe.
The formula was simple but effective — everyone in the team was given their fair share of playing time, the team got the results and the players were kept in the best possible condition to avoid fatigue and injuries.
Real won the league as Ronaldo sprang to life and scored goals in crucial fixtures.
He also scored 8 goals in three Champions League matches as Real progressed to the final for the second successive season.
The effect of Zidane on the team was extraordinary — the players did not give up until the final whistle blew.
Yesterday Real Madrid won their second successive Champions League to couple with their​ league success this season.
Zidane joined the elite company of managers to win the "big ears" twice.
Certainly, the player he once was and the manager he is now have a lot in common — passion for the club and the spirit of fighting till the end.
Maybe Sir Alex knew it back then when he said, "Give me ten pieces of wood and Zidane and I'll win you the Champions League".

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