 |
| Kaka |
Zinedine Zidane has followed up an amazing
playing career with what has the makings of being an equally impressive run as
a manager. His first season in charge of Real Madrid produced a UEFA Champions
League title, and he is on the verge of a potential Champions League-La Liga
double in his second year.
It is a level of managerial success that
wasn't expected, at least not so quickly. Not even by Kaka, who knows him and
Real Madrid well.
"When I was there, I had (Zidane) as a
second coach for (Jose) Mourinho, and he started doing very good but I think
it’s a big surprise for everybody," former Madrid star Kaka told Goal .
"He was an amazing player, and he’s
smart, he’s intelligent, but the results he has been having this season is
incredible. He can win the league and also win the Champions League, they are very
good results for just two years as a professional coach. So congratulations to
Zidane,” Kaka said.
Zidane's time away from the game lasted four
years before then-manager Mourinho appointed him as special advisor to Real
Madrid's first team, which allowed the Frenchman transition back into the club.
A stint as Real Madrid's sporting director
soon followed, and also as Carlo Ancelotti's assistant, as well as a run as the
manager of the second team. He replaced fired Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez
midway through the 2015-16 season, guiding Los Blancos to the club's 11th
Champions League title.
Zidane has been a rare exception of a
superstar player making a smooth and successful transition into managing, which
could serve as inspiration for other star players to follow a similar career
track. Kaka isn't thinking about being a manager just yet, but his thoughts on
the subject reveal that Zidane didn't have that career in mind either when he
retired as a player in 2006.
"(Managing) is not something that i’m
thinking (about) right now, but I don’t know, maybe in the future," Kaka
said. "Zidane is a good example of that. When we were (at Real Madrid) we
talked a lot and he told me one day that when he stopped playing he didn’t want
to be a coach, he just wanted to stay with his family and enjoy life a little
bit, travel around.
"And after two, three years he missed it
... the field, the smell of the grass, and he thought, ‘No, maybe it’s time to
get back and start to learn more about soccer off the field.’ Then he did the
coach course, and he became Castilla and youth teams coach for Real Madrid.
Then after that he became the first-team coach.
Zidane will look to guide Real Madrid to
their 12th Champions League title when they face Juventus in the final on June.
No comments:
Post a Comment