Zidane reveals insight into locker room at Real Madrid: “we were at the players’ disposal”

Zinedine Zidane is one of the most beloved coaches among Real Madrid supporters. The Frenchman arrived at the club in January 2016 after a poor run under Rafael Benítez and went on to lead the team to an unprecedented three consecutive Champions League titles. Now, speaking on the YouTube channel of Hamidou Msaidie, he reflects on his time at Real Madrid and the foundations of that era.

On his arrival at Madrid, Zidane recalls how suddenly everything changed. “I remember we were preparing a game against Ebro when the opportunity to coach the first team came up. When I started with Castilla, I dreamed of reaching the first team, but after losing three games at the beginning, I thought that might be the end of everything. At first, we arrived at 9 in the morning and left at 11 at night. I knew what I was getting into. We had the best team in the world. I looked at the players and knew that if we worked well, we could achieve important things – and that’s what happened. We didn’t want training sessions to all be the same.”

Zidane says the situation he inherited was more fragile than it appeared from the outside. “We came in at a critical moment. The team wasn’t in good physical shape, and all we had to do was instill the idea that they needed to work as a team. We were able to train during the week because we only had the league. I met with the four captains and told them what I wanted from them and that I would see whether they were committed. Once they agreed to work, that was it – joy arrived. We helped them rediscover their motivation. Work and joy. We made them run. The physical work was fundamental.”

His bond with the squad, he insists, was central to everything that followed. “At Real Madrid, we were at the players’ disposal. For me, that’s what makes a team strong – being there for the player. If you don’t understand that, you can’t last in this profession. We’re there to support them; you have to show that you’re there for them. For the locker room to accept what you want to implement, they have to like you. If the players don’t agree with everything they’re given – the training sessions, all of that – something will always be missing. With us at Real Madrid, I think they enjoyed it on every level.”

Zidane believes restoring belief was just as important as tactics or fitness. “We instilled a lot of confidence in the players. They had been through a bad run and needed to regain confidence, physical condition – everything. We created a framework so they could recover it all. When a player is competitive, happy to train and go out and play, they’re sure to win three Champions Leagues. We had a great time.”

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