A modest Zinedine Zidane says he cannot be considered the best coach in world football as he is still inexperienced, despite winning back-to-back Champions League titles with Real Madrid.
Zidane claimed the FIFA Best Men’s Coach award on Monday, making it a Madrid double as Cristiano Ronaldo pipped Barcelona’s Lionel Messi to the player’s prize.
Chelsea’s Antonio Conte and Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri – whose side lost to Los Blancos in last season’s Champions League final – were beaten to the award by the Frenchman.
But while Zidane opted not to name the coaches he rates above himself, he insists he is too new to management to be the world’s best coach.
“I do not know, it’s you [the media] who talk about it,” Zidane said ahead of Thursday’s Copa del Rey tie at Fuenlabrada. “I accept this award and I believe it is reward for the work we have done so far.
“We have won many things with this team and in the end I am happy, I am not there to say that I do not deserve that. I deserve it, I got it, but the question is whether I’m the best coach in the world. I say no and that’s it.
“I think there are others who are better and that’s it. If within 10 years I am training and winning, we can talk, but not at the moment.
“I do not care, I do not want to know anything about that. What I care about is work, enjoying what I do and nothing else. There are others who like to talk about it, not me.
“Zidane as a player is better than Zidane as a coach. I have been playing for 35 years and I only have been working as coach for 18 months.”
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