Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane says the Champions League is a very special competition for him and he wants to win it as manager of Los Blancos.
The Frenchman leads the club in the tournament for the first time since taking over as manager when Real take on Roma in the last-16 clash.
As a player, Zidane won the tournament in 2002 when Real beat Bayern Leverkussen in Glasgow. His goal in that final is considered to be among the greatest ever scored in the competition’s history.
Zidane was also present as assistant manager in 2014 when Los Blancos defeated Atletico de Madrid 4-1 to win the Champions League for the 10th time.
At his press conference on Tuesday, he told reporters he holds the competition in high regard.
“The Champions League is special for the club, for me,and for all of the players. We are aware of the tradition that we’ve got in the Champions League, so let’s see how we get on. The most important thing is that we are ready for all of the games, and we are ready. Physically, we are in good shape and we’re going to give our all”.
“We need to keep on performing as we have been recently. We need to make a strong start, we know that will be difficult though. Roma are a good side and away from home it’ll be difficult. We’ve had a good week and we’re ready for the game,” he commented.
Having experience defeat to Italian side Juventus in the knock out stages last season, Zidane said he wants to forget the past and focus on his current squad.
“We’ll see home things go tomorrow, and then we’ve got the return leg. We want to get through, we’re going to give our all and we’ll see where it takes us. The past is in the past and we’ve got to look forwards and see just what we’ve got to do to get through the tie,” he stated.
