Zinedine Zidane spoke in his press conference prior to his side’s clash against Sporting Lisbon at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night. The Real Madrid main-man spoke about various topics including Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the first team and how he intends to utilize his services in their opening game of the Champions League season and further.
The Portuguese international just recently returned from an injury and scored against Osasuna in the La Liga to become the club’s top scorer of all time, breaking yet another record.
His return to the team would have boosted the French manager’s aspirations of winning some more titles in the current campaign, as the Spanish giants look to defend their crown this term.
It will be a tough task, as it has not been done before, though nothing is really impossible at this moment with the form that they have been in.
Here is what Zidane had to say about Ronaldo ahead of the game in his pre-match press conference, “He’s ready to play, wants to play and that’s good.”
“The idea is for him to play 90 minutes but we’ll see during the game because anything can happen.”
“We’re happy to start again, we know the importance of the competition and the players are ready – we’re all ready.”
“There will always be many teams that want to win the Champions League, but you have to compete.”
“The good news is that we are prepared to go to war to win it again.” When further questioned about dropping some of the players and his decision making, he added, “It’s my job, my responsibility.”
“The worst thing for a coach is having to leave four or five players out when they do the same as the rest in training.”
“We’ve talked a lot about rotations and people not being happy, but they have to be professional.”
“They’re part of the squad of 24 and they’ll get their chance.”
