Zidane: Bale is right for Real
He has given his opinions on Jose Mourinho, the Champions League final and his own future, but the guard comes down when conversation moves on to the Welshman.
The star of the Premier League season has won every individual award going, but he will not be playing in the Champions League next season – not unless he leaves Tottenham, at any rate. And if Bale does decide to leave White Hart Lane, he would be able to choose from a very select group of clubs.
Chief among those are Real Madrid. Their players believe that Bale is a special talent, one they would love to see alongside them at the Bernabeu.
It is a tactic that North Londoners are well aware of – but this time the difference is that Tottenham are in the firing line, rather than Arsenal. Cesc Fabregas left the Emirates Stadium for Barcelona, as everyone always knew he would eventually.
But now the question is where Bale’s future lies, and that is why Zidane’s praise of the Welshman is laced with added meaning. If Real Madrid’s sporting director, and one of the most famous players in the history of the game, is talking about Bale in such terms then the club’s intentions are clear.
“This season I have been watching Tottenham for the very reason that Bale has been playing,” explains Zidane.
“Aside from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are the top players, I must admit that he is the footballer who impressed me most.
“He particularly impressed me because he was consistent – he wasn’t great in one or two matches, he was a great player all the time.
“He scored goals and was consistently scoring them – very important goals. He has been very impressive. Could he be at Real Madrid next season? All big, talented players could go to Real Madrid.
“Is he good enough to play for Real Madrid? He is more than good enough to play for Real Madrid.”
With that, Zidane is whisked off to his next promotional appearance, but the statement is clear. All of the news emerging from Tottenham is that Bale will sign a new contract this summer and stay for another season, but even that may just be a stay of execution for Spurs.
If he does leave then Manchester United would be confident of luring him to Old Trafford, but the prospect of swapping one white shirt for another by leaving Tottenham for Madrid may be too great to refuse.
Certainly, Zidane’s words will have an impact, both on Bale and Tottenham. What makes them even more interesting is the fact that he had been relatively reserved before then. Speaking on behalf of adidas, he appeared slightly uncomfortable when Mourinho’s name was mentioned.
That is hardly surprising; it has been announced that the Portuguese will leave his post as Madrid’s manager at the end of the season, almost certainly to return to Chelsea.
Mourinho’s final year has been notable more for the off-field rows he has become embroiled in with his own players than for any success on the field. Mourinho and Iker Casillas are seemingly no longer on speaking terms, while even loyalists such as Pepe have recently come out against their coach.
Above all, the fact that Madrid have not won anything this season – they trail Barcelona by 13 points in La Liga, were knocked out of the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals and lost the Copa del Rey final on home soil to Atletico Madrid last Friday – underlines how poor their campaign has been.
Yet Zidane is kind to Mourinho. He admits to not having got to know the 50-year-old particularly well during his three years in Madrid, but he has backed him to succeed at Chelsea.
“I don’t think it will affect his confidence,” said Zidane when asked whether Mourinho has been affected by what has happened to him in Spain.
“He is disappointed he didn’t win, but I think he still has a lot of trust in what he does and his work, and he will just carry on. He will try to win again.
“The issue with Madrid is that if you apply to run the club, the expectation is that you win all your matches and all competitions.
“If you don’t it is difficult to take. Suddenly you get a lot of pressure on you from on high. But I’m not sure that doesn’t apply to other clubs, though it does particularly with Real Madrid.
“Will it be difficult for Mourinho if he goes back to Chelsea? I don’t know, as at the moment he is still in Madrid with two matches left.
“What happens on the pitch lets you know if it was a good idea or not. When you are a well-known coach there is a lot of pressure anyway. The games in the future will tell.”
Yet what of Zidane’s future? He has been relatively quiet during his spell as Madrid’s sporting director, but there is a good reason for that – he has been taking his coaching badges and helping out with the youth team.
So, could the star of the 1998 World Cup and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year become a manager? It seems so.
“Of course I have ambitions [to become a coach],” he adds. “I am taking my courses and diplomas at the moment.
“I am very happy with what I am doing at the moment, and I have been at Real Madrid with the young footballers for a while. It has been a very good experience for me. When I have my qualifications I would eventually like to run a club. I have no idea what club it would be, but it is one of my ambitions.”
Zinedine Zidane believes Bayern Munich will triumph in tonight’s all-German Champions League Final but rubbished the idea there has been a power-shift in European football.
Bayern will face Borussia Dortmund at Wembley after sweeping aside the challenges of Barcelona and Real Madrid in the semi-finals. With all four English sides crashing out before the quarter-final stage there is a view that the Bundesliga will dominate in years to come, but Zidane insists that is far from certain.
The Frenchman, now sporting director at Madrid, insists Europe’s giants will come back to challenge German supremacy in the years to come.
“I don’t think there is anything new here,” said Zidane. “It’s not new to see German football being good and near the top. What is unusual is we have two German teams in the final.
“But look at Bayern in the last few seasons – they have always been around the semi-finals, finals, and have been very consistent. Also, Germany is very good at international level. I wouldn’t say it’s new to see this. It’s new because there are two teams in the final from the same country.”
But Zidane believes Bayern will be too strong for Dortmund this evening.
“I think there will be a one-goal difference between the sides, in favour of Bayern,” said Zidane.
“Dortmund are very new in the competition, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be very good. Both these teams have proved themselves throughout the season and have played very well. It will be very tight.”
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