Zidane joins greats of coaching

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. .

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.

“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.

A Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid last season might have been seen in some quarters as beginner’s luck.

But Zidane had all the right answers this season.

Aware that Ronaldo had been below his best in two Champions League finals, he rested him nine times this season and was rewarded with 16 goals in his last 10 appearances.

Blessed with the Midas touch, Zidane’s success is no fluke and there is no end in sight.