Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane knows a thing or two about winning the UEFA Champions League. The France international won the competition for three consecutive years during his first stint with the Spanish club.
In an interview with Le Parisien, Zidane spoke about the capital club, possibly winning the Champions League, which might pain him to say, considering the 48-year-old is an Olympique de Marseille supporter.
Nonetheless, Zidane touched on what it means to have the Ligue 1 champions in the final.
“Logically, by dint of believing and working, they reach this level today. I think it’s pretty well deserved, there is no such thing as luck in football,” Zidane said. “The Champions League is a competition which is very complicated, where you face the best European teams. When you get to the end, I attribute that to work.”
The discussion switched to PSG’s dynamic duo of Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé, who he saw closely during two group stage matches of the Champions League.
“What marks is the difference they manage to make on the pitch. You watch the game against Atalanta, it shows,” Zidane said. “Neymar was very good the whole match. We talked about his latest move, but he was so ubiquitous during the meeting. And then, this duo is easy when they play together. They are two very, very good players who make staggering differences at times.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the competition relocated to Lisbon, Portugal, with the matches from the quarter-finals and onward being single-game elimination. Zidane provided his thoughts on the format.
“It’s a bit special. But honestly, it’s a Champions League, and it’s good to finish it.”
Marseille is the only French club to have won the Champions League, so Zidane is asked whether we’ll see a second one win it with PSG.
“We’ll see. Anything can happen in football. We must hope for French football that one of the two clubs (Editors note: before Lyon’s elimination) still involved wins, we must wish them the best. Now I am not a diviner,” Zidane said.
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