Zinedine Zidane says he would have accepted an offer to replace Carlo Ancelotti as Real Madrid Coach but isn’t disappointed at being overlooked.
Rafa Benitez was installed after Ancelotti was sacked and Zidane has told France Football that if Florentino Perez had turned to him instead, he would have stepped up from Castilla.
“I’d have accepted replacing Ancelotti. I consider myself a professional and wouldn’t have rejected the challenge,” he said, AS reports.
“Of course I was sad [to see Ancelotti leave] because he did a good job here but at a big club, if you don’t win one year…he said himself, ‘without a major trophy you risk having to leave.’
“I’m not frustrated about being overlooked, no. I’m not disappointed. It was felt that this wasn’t the time. Things happen naturally and you can’t go looking for them. It wasn’t written that way.
“[Perez] took the decision to choose another Coach, period.”
Zidane was Ancelotti’s assistant during the Italian’s first year on the bench before taking over the B team, and elaborated on the difference between being a No 2 and a No 1.
“They have nothing to do with each other. The Coach is responsible. Everything happens through you. You make all the decisions,” Zidane continued.
“Sure, you have a staff, but you are the one who decides. Being a Coach means being alone. When you’re the assistant you can give advice and provide a different point of view, but there’s no comparison. The responsibility is with the Coach.
“The goal of Castilla is to prepare players for the League, for Madrid or somewhere else. That’s the message from the President and the CEO.
“Promotion is important but even more so is to develop the players.”
