Real Madrid may have ended the year badly, but Zinedine Zidane has been named French coach of 2017 for leading the club to a Liga and Champions League double.
Zidane led Real Madrid to the La Liga and Champions League double earlier but the team have struggled recently, trailing FC Barcelona by 16 points.
“I want to show that I can also be a good coach in tough circumstances,” Zidane said in an article published on Tuesday in France Football magazine, which gives the award.
Real are going through a bad run as they are fourth in La Liga, 16 points behind leaders FC Barcelona, and they ended 2017 with a crushing 3-0 loss at home in the Clasico.
On Sunday, they were held to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.
“Today, yes, the danger is there, but I’m not going to change. I am aware that I have in front of me great players who listen to me. Playing football, I know how to do that.
“So, things will sort themselves out in the end,” Zidane said.
“Some people may think that everything is always easy for me, that I do everything from instinct, but that’s not true! Whether it is as a player or as a coach, I’ve always worked.
“I’m not protected by what I achieved as a player for this club. Zinedine Zidane is no longer a Real player. That Zidane does not exist anymore.
“Now, it is the coach Zinedine Zidane who must create a career,” he added.
His side will continue their defence of the UEFA Champions League title against a French team coached by a Spaniard.
Real will take on Unai Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain in the first knockout round on February 14 and March 6.(Reuters/NAN)