Zidane vows to restore attacking prowess

Zinedine Zidane has promised to make up for his lack of coaching experience by inspiring Real Madrid to play with the same attacking flair he displayed during his playing career.

“Football with a personal touch, with attacking play, is what I’ll aim for,” the former France great said at a news conference, a day after replacing the fired Rafa Benitez as Madrid coach.

“A coach is never really prepared, least of all one who hasn’t coached before. But I am motivated, excited, and that is going to ensure that things go well,” he said. “I always believe that it’s important to play attractive, but balanced football, and I am going to work to get that on the pitch.”

The 43-year-old Zidane has agreed to a promotion from the club’s reserve side to coach the first team for the rest of this season, plus two more years.

Zidane’s first game as coach will be on Saturday against Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league. Zidane said he would continue to play Madrid’s three star forwards — Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Gareth Bale — although the coach said Bale was not happy with Benitez’s firing.

“I understand Gareth may be upset at Rafa’s departure, but he will be treated with affection. He’s a fundamental player,” Zidane said.

Spanish talk radio didn’t wait long to start making hopeful comparisons between Zidane and former Barcelona playerturned-coach Pep Guardiola.

Zidane dismissed the comparison. “Guardiola is Guardiola, and I am going to try and do it the best I can,” he said. “I never compared myself to others as a player, and I won’t do it as a coach.”

Earlier, the club said more than 6,000 fans turned out to watch Zidane take charge during Madrid’s traditional open first practice session of the year. Marco Materazzi, the recipient of Zidane’s infamous headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final, wished the Frenchman well.

“The weight of Zidane’s personality will hold weight in the changing room,” Materazzi told the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. “But it’s not going to be a walk in the park for him. For great players that become coaches, after two or three matches they’re already condemned to produce results. Anyhow, without being ironic, I wish him (...) good luck.”

Zidane will look to restore harmony among his players, including James Rodriguez and Francisco “Isco” Alarcon.