A legend as a player, Zinedine Zidane becomes a managerial immortal as well
First coach since Sacchi in 1990 to win successive European Cups
Feted as one of the finest talents of his generation, Zinedine Zidane has made the transition to management so smoothly that he has already eclipsed some of the game’s most hallowed names just 17 months into his spell as Real Madrid boss.
When Zidane’s majestic strike flashed into the net to give Madrid victory in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen, the French star must have believed he would never surpass that golden moment in Europe’s top-tier tournament.
Yet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday, he joined the managerial immortals as Madrid’s 4-1 rout of Juventus made him the first coach to win successive European Cups since the great Arrigo Sacchi of AC Milan in 1989 and 1990.
Not even Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho or Pep Guardiola has achieved that epic feat.
“All the coaches you mentioned, they’re great coaches. I don’t want to say I’m very good because before I was scandalously bad and now I’m supposed to be the best,” Zidane said modestly.
“I have the chance to be with this great squad. In the long run, everyone’s been very important. For me that’s the success.”