Zidane at Real Madrid

Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu two hours before midnight to announce the dismissal of Rafael Benitez. He stated that from now on, Zinedine Zidane would take charge of the Galacticos. Zidane, who appeared in the press conference with his wife and four children in an unconventional move, thanked Perez for the opportunity given to him, saying: 'We have the best team and the best fans in the world. I intend to give my utmost to achieve championship by the end of the season.' Zidane is one of the greatest players in football history, having had a fruitful and successful career at Juventus, Real Madrid, and the French national team. He was named the world's best player three times, received the European Player of the Year award, and was the most valuable player of the European Club Championship and the World Cup. His list of honors includes winning the World Cup, the European Championship, the European Club Championship, Serie A, and La Liga. Zidane retired from football after finishing as a runner-up in the 2006 World Cup, where his infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi and the red card he received marked the most controversial moment of his career. Zidane's first test as a coach of the Galacticos will be on January 9 at home against Deportivo La Coruna. His subsequent matches will be against Sporting Gijon, Real Betis (away), Espanyol, Granada (away), and Athletic Bilbao. It is conceivable that he could secure a full 18 points from these matches, which would solidify his position within the team and among the fans. Benitez is a great coach, and if it were otherwise, he would not have held the managerial position at Real. He won La Liga and the UEFA Cup with Valencia, the Champions League with Liverpool, the Club World Cup with Inter Milan, the Europa League with Chelsea, and the Super Cup and Coppa Italia with Napoli. Such a record places him among the best coaches in the world, yet his tenure in Madrid lasted only seven months. This is a club where he had previously spent three years in the youth team, winning three trophies. Benitez was dismissed just six weeks after Perez had expressed his full support for him. Benitez's assistant told Marca that the Real players conspired to create conditions for the coach's dismissal. Antonio Gonzalez said: 'From the first week when we drew against Gijon, the players paid no attention to Benitez. While he was speaking, they were playing with their shoes and some were laughing. It was as if the coach was not talking to them.' Regardless of Gonzalez's revelations, it was evident that Rafa's relationship with his star players was poor. From the first day when Ronaldo refused to practice shooting at the goalpost to reports of conflicts involving Isco, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, and Luka Modric, unrest was evident in the Real locker room. Benitez never displayed the necessary authority to deal with the disobedient and restless players. Fans were clearly on the side of the players. The 2-2 draw against Valencia was the last day Benitez held command of the team. Zidane, who had also been an assistant to Carlo Ancelotti at Real, now takes over after 18 months on the bench of Real Madrid Castilla. The AS newspaper conducted a poll regarding fans' favorite candidates for the Real coaching position, with 72% of the votes going to Zidane. Victor Fernandez, the director of Real's youth teams, received 15%, while Benitez garnered only 12%. Zidane is the first French coach in the club's history. So far, 24 foreign coaches have worked at this club. Three Argentinians (Caringa, Di Stefano, and Jorge Valdano) and three Englishmen (Arthur Johansson, Robert Fritz, and Michael Capping) have had the most representation. Germany has had two coaches, Jupp Heynckes and Bernd Schuster; the Netherlands with Leo Beenhakker and Guus Hiddink; Portugal with Mourinho and Carlos Queiroz; Serbia with Boskov and Antic; Uruguay with Enrique Fernandez and Hector Scarone; and Italy with Fabio Capello and Ancelotti, each having two coaches at Real. Other foreign coaches in the history of Real Madrid include Wanderley Luxemburgo from Brazil, Manuel Pellegrini from Chile, Hetrzsky from Hungary, Miljanic from Macedonia, John Toshack from Wales, and Flitas from Paraguay. Some coaches of this team, like Zidane, have previously been players for Real. Before him, Schuster was also a player and coach for Real. Garcia Ramon, Antonio Camacho, Vicente del Bosque, Jorge Valdano, and Alfredo Di Stefano are among the coaches of Real who have a history of playing for the team.