Casillas: "Zidane's return is the best movie in the world."
Real Madrid legend praised his former club's decision to reappoint Zidane as head coach.
"I always believed that 'Back to the Future 2' was the best sequel to a movie in the world, but no, I was wrong. The best sequel is Zinedine Zidane's return to Real Madrid. Good luck," Iker Casillas wrote.Twitter, just minutes after his former club Real Madrid announced Zidane's appointment as head coach on the evening of March 11th.
Casillas was Zidane's teammate for five years, from 1999 to 2006. Together they won a Champions League and a La Liga title. However, their time as coach was cut short. When Zidane took over from Rafa Benitez in early 2016, Casillas moved to Porto.
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Casillas has a great admiration for his former teammate Zidane. Photo:Reuters |
With Real Madrid, Zidane set an unprecedented record of winning the Champions League three years in a row. However, after the French coach left, the Bernabeu club fell into crisis. They were eliminated from both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League within a week. Zidane's two successors, Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari, lost their jobs within a single season.
Zidane's return was met with enthusiasm by the fans. Former player Alvaro Arbeloa toldAS"The decision to appoint Zidane was not risky at all. It's like Michael Jordan making a comeback with the Chicago Bulls. Real needs to end their current poor form quickly to finish the season in the best possible way and open up the future with optimism. Real will be very happy to have him."
Zidane is the 11th coach to return to manage Real Madrid in history. Among them, some have been successful, such as Miguel Munoz and Fabio Capello, but many have failed, including Leo Bennhakker, John Toshack, and Antonio Camacho. The rest have left no mark.
Arbeloa believes it's impossible to predict Zidane's future and Real Madrid's at this point. The former Spanish defender added:This is a momentous day for Real Madrid, as one of their greatest legends, both as a player and a coach, returns. Zidane understands the players very well and spent many years with them. He knows exactly what this team needs, and Zidane is the most suitable name Real could choose right now."