Real Madrid legend Raul says the players and fans can dream once again after the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as the new manager.
Los Blancos’ season had lurched from crisis to crisis under Rafa Benitez before he was sacked after just seven months into the job.
The 10-time Champions League winners stumbled in many of the big games they played, they were thrown out of the Copa del Rey, there was a bungled attempt to sign David de Gea from Manchester United, and they were handed a two-window transfer ban for breaching rules over the signing of youth players from abroad.
But under Zidane, the team has gone five games undefeated, winning four of them. They lie just four points off the top of the table, albeit having played a game more than leaders Barcelona. Next week, they take on Roma in the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Champions League.
And speaking to beInSports, Raul said there was plenty to be optimistic about, even encouraging fans to dream of silverware at the end of the campaign.
“I think that the message Zidane has to offer will get through to the players, because he was a world-class player. He’ll go down as one of the best ever because of what he won and how he played and he’ll be able to make the players buy into his message, having inherited a squad brimming with talent,” he stated.
And he continued: “He knows what people really want. Why not dream of ending this year with something to shout about? And, failing that, he will have to be given time so that next season all the work he is doing can bear fruit.”
