Zidane: No Madrid A or B teams

Zinedine Zidane says “there’s no A or B team” at Real Madrid as he warns “you have to start well if you want to win the League.”

Zidane’s reign at Madrid has been characterised by heavy squad rotation, even resting the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, as opposed to having a fixed starting XI.

“Like always, it’s work that will lead us to achieving things, we’re in a very good moment and we must take advantage of it,” said the Coach at a Press conference for Sunday’s opener against Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga.

“This season is going to be very long and it’s the first game, there are 38 of them.

“I remember last season, when we won [the season] on the last day. Work’s going to get us things.

“Depor? It’s not a concern, they’re a team that are our rivals and they’ll try to do well, they’re playing at home and they have good players.

“Every game’s going to be like this, we’re starting against a team that have very good fans, what’s important is that we do more than our opponents.

“Team to beat? We know this, now more than before, our rivals always want to beat us, so it’s an important match for all the teams.

“We always think the same thing, that every game is going to be important. If you want to win the League, you have to start well.

“Every game is going to need a tremendous effort from us, for our opponents, because they’ll want to win and we’ll try to do it in the best way possible.

“Asensio? Everyone knows what they can contribute to the team and Marco’s one of them. He’s been phenomenal every time he plays.

“We’re all ready, there’s a game tomorrow and then the Bernabeu Trophy. It’s going to be very long, but we’re all focused and feeling good.

“Bale? He’s okay, training well and that’s the most important thing, he had a few problems last season until four months of injury.

“Now he’s feeling well, he had a very good preseason and I hope it’ll be a great year for him and us.

“Referees? I won’t cast any doubts about them, it was something punctual and I said what I thought the other day.

“I don’t agree [with the ban], I never complain and I’m not going to do that now. I just said that the ban was too much, and that’s it. Five games without Cristiano is a lot. We’ll appeal again if we can.

“Best squad in the world? I don’t know if it’s the best in the world, you [journalists] say that…

“Certainly, I have a fantastic team and we can still improve, I have some very young players and you can always learn more.

“Depor taking a draw? They’ll try to play in the best way possible, but we’re not looking at our rivals too much.

“I see them as a technical team, but for our players, what’s important is what we are going to do.

“Transfers? Until the 31st, anything can happen, here, outside… BBC? We’re all in the same boat here, we want to do the same.

“There’s no team A or B team here. There’ll always be changes.”

Deportivo La Coruna (probable): Ruben; Juanfran, Sidnei, Schar, Luisinho; Mosquera, Guilherme; Cartabia, Borges, Bakkali; Andone

Injuries/suspensions: Gil (I) Emre (S)

Real Madrid (probable): Keylor; Carvajal, Nacho, Ramos, Theo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Isco; Benzema, Bale

Injuries/suspensions: Ronaldo (S) Vallejo, Kovacic (I)

Referee: Gonzalez Gonzalez

Previous meeting: Depor 2-6 Madrid

Kick-off time: 21:15 BST/22:15 local time (LIVE on Football Espana)

Tags Deportivo Zinedine Zidane
La Liga - Club News