…Zinedine Zidane beats Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola to clinch the title
Real Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane has been voted the best manager in the world by French newspaper L’Equipe, beating Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola to the title.
At his first stint at Real Madrid, the 48-year-old won a La Liga title, three Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, two Club World Cups, and a Spanish Super Cup before his shocking departure at the club in 2018.
However, he was re-appointed ten months after and has proceeded to win another La Liga title and another Super Cup this season to continue his remarkable feat at Santiago Bernabeu.
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The two English Premier League’s (EPL) coaches who guided their sides to finish first and second on the log, Klopp and Guardiola join Zidane in the top three for their outstanding achievements, but there was no chance for Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho, who L’Equipe described as having a “fading image and magic.”
On Zidane, the newspaper noted: “He is a coach who has experienced only one club, and quite rarely defeat.
“A coach who did what none of his predecessors did, win three Champions Leagues in a row (2016, 2017, 2018), who was able to return to the footsteps of his own glory and question everything to become a new Spanish champion with Real Madrid last month.
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“Guardiola has something else, his dogma, his permanent research, the virtuosity of his collective game, dizzying constructions, his consistency (198 points in two seasons from 2017 to 2019), but he does not have everything, and chooses his central defenders as his attackers or midfielders.’
L’Equipe added that Klopp has “charisma” and described him as the “fashionable man” and “favourite of many.”
Zidane as manager has another chance of securing a fourth Champions League later this month but meets an difficult task as he goes head-to-head with two-time winner Guardiola when Manchester City and Madrid meet in the second leg of their last-16 clash on Friday, with City 2-1 up from the first game in Spain.