Théo Zidane named in Real Madrid’s Champions League squad for Napoli: what kind of player is he?

Real Madrid’s injury crisis has to be seen to be believed, with Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Vinícius Júnior among eight first-team players ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League home game against Napoli. Their absences have, however, opened the door for a new face, but one that has a more than familiar name - Zidane.

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Zinedine, the “original” Zidane, is, of course, a club legend following his time at the Bernabéu as both player and manager. On the field, he played over 230 games and scored 49 goals, with his iconic UCL final goal against Bayer Leverkusen giving Los Blancos their ninth European title. In the dugout, he had even greater success, leading the LaLiga giants to two league titles and their 11th, 12th and 13th Champions League triumphs.

Enzo and Luca Zidane have already played for Real Madrid

But “Zizou” has also done his bit to look out for the club in the future, with all four of his sons representing Real Madrid in one way or another. During his time as head coach, he gave eldest child Enzo, now playing for Fuenlabrada in the Spanish third tier, his only first-team appearance in a Copa del Rey match, in which the midfielder scored.

Second son Luca, a goalkeeper, played two games under his dad before leaving for Rayo Vallecano and now Eibar, currently in the Spanish second division. 17-year-old left-footed defender Elyaz, the youngest Zidane, is part of the Real Madrid academy and plays for their successful Juvenil A (under-19) team, coached by Álvaro Arbeloa.

But it could be third child Théo’s time to shine, with the 21-year-old in contention to become the first Zidane to feature in Madrid’s first team under a manager he doesn’t share a surname with.

Théo Zidane’s playing style

The France under-20 international has been with the club since the age of eight and has worked his way through the age groups, currently turning out regularly for Raúl’s Real Madrid Castilla, for whom he has started 11 games out of 14 this season in the third tier in Spain.

Standing at 1.96 metres tall (6′5″), Théo normally plays as a holding or box-to-box midfielder who covers lots of ground and is quick to close down opposition players when in out of possession. He has inherited some of his dad’s deft touches on the ball too, though, as has been known to score the odd goal from outside the box during his time with the academy.

Will we get to Los Merengues’ fourth Zidane against Napoli on Wednesday? The way Real Madrid’s first-teamers are dropping likes flies, there must be a reasonable chance.