Cristiano Ronaldo should feel intimidated at the thought of being coached by
Zinedine Zidane, former Juventus defender Ciro Ferrara has said.
The World Cup-winning former France star was named as head coach of Real
Madrid this week following the sacking of Rafael Benitez.
Ex-Madrid boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo suggested that Zidane could be undermined
by the Portugal star if he allows his ego to get the better of him during the
Santiago Bernabeu icon’s spell in charge.
But Ferrara, who played alongside Zidane at Juventus during his own
glittering playing career, is confident the 43-year-old will comfortably hold
sway in a notoriously volatile dressing-room.
When asked if Zidane may feel apprehensive in working with Ronaldo, Ferrara
told Omnisport: “Well, actually I think it should be Cristiano Ronaldo who
feels intimidated by Zidane, rather than it being the other way around.
“Obviously this is a new role for Zidane so he has to, slowly, match after
match, through the words he says to his squad, gain their trust. Even though
at the moment he probably already has their complete and undivided trust,
something you automatically have after having been a true legend like Zizou.
“After that he is going to have to find the right way to transfer his
philosophies, maybe not many at the start. Especially because it isn’t like
in Italy, where managers tend to focus a lot on tactics, in Spain they tend
to do it much less. But I’m sure that Zidane will have a few tactical ideas
that he picked up during his years in Juventus which he will want to tell his
side.
“I don’t think that Zizou will ever go to Cristiano Ronaldo and tell him:
‘Look, you need to kick the ball in this way’ or go to Sergio Ramos and tell
him how to defend. The players already know what to do and it is then up to
the former greats to show intelligence, in order to simply help them get
better.”
COMMENTS