Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane is hoping to emulate one of his predecessors Carlo Ancelotti in Saturday s Champions League final.
Zidane was assistant to the Italian when Madrid saw off city rivals Atletico 4-1 following extra time in Lisbon to lift the European Cup for the 10th time two years ago.
Now, Zidane is in charge – having taken over from Rafael Benitez in January – and Madrid stand on the brink of a second title in three seasons.
Atletico provide the opponents once again at San Siro and Zidane fondly recalled a chat between himself and Ancelotti prior to the 2014 showdown.
When the match begins I ll be more tense, but that s usual. It s part of the coaching job and I like it, the Frenchman said.
I like this kind of pressure. I ve experienced it as a player, but as a coach it s completely different.
Carlo Ancelotti used to tell me that often, before the final in Lisbon he said to me I hope you get to experience this some day as coach and, well, here we and I keep thinking of Carlo.
Zidane sees an improvement among his players in recent months, but says that will count for little once Saturday s game kicks off against a difficult and stubborn Atletico side.
I think we re a bit better in every dimension, but in a final that s meaningless really, he said. I m happy because we ve done a huge job in the meantime and I really, really believe in hard work.
The players have done an amazing job, now we have a final ahead of us. We just have to give our all and tomorrow we ll see what happens but we know we re ready.
They [Atletico] do well against everyone, not just Real Madrid. We know how they re working, there s a good reason why they re in the final. They re doing a really good job and the same applies to us.
Tomorrow there s a match on and let s see who wins it.
