Real Madrid: Zidane saw end of Champions League reign coming
When he resigned, Zinedine Zidane flagged up the need for changes at Madrid: "I'm not so confident of being able to keep on winning."
When he resigned as Real Madrid coach last May, Zinedine Zidane could see the end of the club's European reign coming.
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Zidane "not so confident" of further success when he resigned
A month before Cristiano Ronaldo also departed, Zidane stepped down after three Champions League wins in two and a half years at the helm, indicating that the team needed a change of direction if it was to carry on collecting silverware.
And the 46-year-old not only suggested that Madrid required fresh ideas in the dugout, but also seemed to hint at the need for an overhaul on the pitch, conceding he was "not so confident" of continued success.
"The team has to keep on winning and needed a change," he told his resignation press conference as he discussed what he felt was the end of his shelf life as Bernabéu boss. "The team needed another voice and another way of working.
"There are tough moments when you maybe question whether you're [still] the right person for the job. The players need a change. This is a demanding club, we push the players hard and there comes a time when you can't ask any more of them."
"If I'm not as convinced about how things look as I'd like to be..."
But most significantly, in an assessment of the club's immediate future whose exact meaning now feels fairly clear, Zidane then also declared: "If I'm not as convinced about how things look as I'd like to be, I think it's better to change."
The Frenchman went on: "I don't want to finish on a low; I want to finish at the top. I did the same as a player. I'm not so confident of being able to keep on winning".
278 days on from Zidane's exit, Los Blancos finds themselves with all but no chance of lifting a major trophy this term (unless Santi Solari's third-placed side mount an unexpected fightback in LaLiga).
His words have a rather prophetic look about them.