Zinedine Zidane Discusses His Journey and Leadership at Real Madrid

Zinedine Zidane recently participated in the Slowmotions Talks program on Hamidou Msaidie’s YouTube channel, alongside David Bettoni, where they reflected on their football experiences.

**Joining the First Team:**
“I joined Real Madrid in 2014. On January 3rd or 4th, 2016, I began working with the first team. It all happened quickly for me. Within six months, I found myself with the first team. The transition felt natural; you get to know the locker room and understand how the players operate. At the beginning, we worked extensively—arriving on Tuesdays at 9 AM and leaving at 11 PM to prepare for various tasks. We had the best team in the world. When you looked at the players, you thought, ‘If we do a good job, we can achieve something extraordinary.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

**Early Decisions:**
“I remember we had three weeks without the Champions League or the Cup, just the league. We had this time to train ahead of our next match. We gathered the four captains and shared our vision with them, and they embraced our project. Physically, we noticed the players were not in good shape; we had analyzed all the data. We prepared training sessions of 20 to 30 minutes of cardio over those three weeks at the training center. We realized they needed to build their endurance, what we referred to as ‘gaining fuel.’ Given their talent, this would elevate their physical fitness level. We had six months to work on this before the Champions League resumed.”

**Turning Point:**
“The match against Wolfsburg was crucial for us, especially leading into the Champions League final and the league. It demonstrated that we were competitors up to the final. I told the team that if we played against Atlético Madrid or Barcelona, we would lose 100% of the time. But if we worked together, we stood a chance to win, and that’s precisely what occurred. Back in January, we wouldn’t have beaten them, but by the end of the season, we triumphed over both—Barcelona in the league and Atlético Madrid in the Champions League.”

**Relationship with Players:**
“At Real Madrid, our focus was always on the players. For me, this is what strengthens the team; you must be there for the players. If you don’t grasp this, you can’t last in this profession. We are here to support them, and you need to show that you are present for them. To gain the locker room’s acceptance of your ideas, you must build a good rapport. If players do not agree with everything they are given, especially in training, something will always be missing. I believe that our approach was enjoyable for everyone involved at all levels.”