Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti have expressed mutual respect towards one another ahead of tonight’s International Champions Cup match in New Jersey. Los Blancos take on BundesLiga champions Bayern Munich, the new club of the former Real Madrid boss. Zidane worked as Ancelotti’s assistant for a spell at Santiago Bernabeu and also played under the Italian at Juventus, so it’s little surprise that the pair had kind words for eachother.
The current Real Madrid boss had this to say about his former mentor “I learned a lot from him and now it’s my turn to be Madrid Coach. It’s thanks to him that things changed. I have a lot of respect for him and I’ll say hello as always, with great respect.” Zidane also recalled “He’s someone I admire a lot and I learned a lot from him. I was silent, I was there and I wanted to learn what I had to do.”
This was reciprocated by Ancelotti who said “Zizou has great quality and I was sure that one day he would be coaching Real Madrid. He has experience, he was a great player, and he has charisma, which is the number one thing a person needs to have a relationship with his players.” Aware that the pair could meet again in this season’s Champions League, the Italian also joked “I wish him all the best, a little more in Spain than in Europe, obviously.”
Tonight’s encounter at MetLife Stadium will not only give us an indication as to how pre-season preparations are going but could also help any potential transfer talks to progress. It appears as if Real madrid have moved on from the pursuit of Paul Pogba and that Bayern’s David Alaba has emerged as a priority target. It will be interesting to see if Florentino Perez can wrangle a deal for the 24-year-old and what impact that may or may not have on Zidane and Ancelotti’s friendship.
