Zidane excited about Cardiff final

Zinedine Zidane was thrilled to steer Real Madrid to a second consecutive Champions League final in which his team will bid to defend their title against his former club Juventus.

Real’s French coach played for The Old Lady between 1996 and 2001 and his portrait hangs on the walls of the Italian club’s stadium in Turin. After a 2-1 defeat at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday, which sent Real through 4-2 on aggregate, Zidane explained what the game in Cardiff will mean to him.

“It’s special, for sure, (Juventus) gave me everything,” he told reporters.

“But I’m with Real Madrid, another club of my life. It will be a beautiful final. We know the path is long and hard and that they deserve to be there and I think we do too.”