Real Madrid: Listen to Zidane's team talk ahead of the Atalanta game
La Sexta cameras picked up the Real Madrid coach motivating his players out on the pitch at Gewiss Stadium before the pre-match training session.
There is no return leg. That was how Zidane wants his players to treat tonight's Champions League Last 16 meeting with Atalanta - even though the teams will meet again to decide the tie in Spain next month. A camera crew from La Sexta, recording the first 15 minutes of the session for the programme Jugones, captured the Real Madrid coach's team talk out in the centre circle of the Gewiss Stadium before the final training session to prepare for the match. With the faint sound of bells marking 7 o'clock in the distance, the audio of Zidane addressing his players in a predominantly empty stadium was clear to hear. He stressed the importance of playing and defending as a team.
Zidane's team talk in Bergamo
“Treat this as your ground," Zidane began. "Lately, you have been playing well. (…) But we have the quality to do everything well. Do what you always do - that's all, tomorrow, think positively. Think not just about the return leg. The tie begins tomorrow [Wednesday], here. Go into tomorrow's game treating it as though it is a single match, played here. We're doing well, we are playing as a team. And we need to defend as one, that is the most important thing. It is going to be very important that we play as a team and defender, because later on, the ball will go in for us”.