With Karim Benzema recovering from a hamstring injury, Gareth Bale resting due to a hamstring complaint of his own and Cristiano Ronaldo increasing his La Liga tally to 23 shots without a goal, Real Madrid relied on Isco’s best performance of the season to defeat Espanyol 2-0 on Sunday and stay within seven points of early pacesetters Barcelona.
The summer of 2000 saw the likes of England’s David Beckham and Steven Gerrard, France’s Zinedine Zidane and David Trezeguet and the Netherlands’ Patrick Kluivert all converge for the year’s marquee footballing event: UEFA Euro 2000.
Zinedine Zidane is now as famous a manager for Real Madrid as he was a player for the club and the France National Team. He is also infamous for ending his international career with a headbutt on Italy's Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final.
It has been over a decade since that incident, but it's clear it still weighs on Zidane's mind in terms of both what it means for his legacy and the example it sets for young fans. Of course, this is to be expected when you ram your head into another man's solar plexus with a few million people watching.
It's safe to say that Zinedine Zidane is aging remarkably well. The 45-year-old quickly transitioned from a Champions League winning player to a Champions League winning coach, and he looks as if he hasn’t aged a day in-between. He's got the kind of sideline presence that'll make your mom stop and stare at the television before saying something about how Americans are sure as s**t a lot fatter than Europeans.
Now that the 2016-17 season has concluded, let’s take a look at 10 managers who exceeded expectations for their clubs.
Our dads are there to catch us when we fall and pick us up when we're down. They hold our hands when we are lost and guide us when we need help. Our dads are our number one supporters and we dream of the day we can make them proud — we want to be just like them.
These 11 footballers not only have famous fathers, but they followed in their footsteps and continued their legacy out on the pitch. Take a look at the these players and their fathers in celebration of Father’s Day.
There’s been quite an interesting turn of events in the Spanish capital of Madrid: less than 72 hours after winning their 12th Champions League title, Real Madrid are fighting a public relations battle after some very negative comments from long-time club servant and central defender Pepe.