Zinedine Zidane has revealed that La Liga is Real Madrid’s “priority” ahead of their first La Liga match for 2016-17 against Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Madrid last won the Spanish title in 2012 under Jose Mourinho, although they have lifted the Champions League twice in that time, and Zidane is keen on ending Los Blancos’ “very, very, very, important” domestic drought.
“The League is very important, it’s the day-to-day [competition],” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“Then there are the cups and the Champions League, but the league is very, very, very important.
“Atletico [Madrid] are like Barcelona and Madrid.
“I’m happy with my squad, even if no-one else arrives. I don’t want to mess around with the line-up [so close to the deadline].
“[Gareth Bale’s] an important player who can make history at the club. It’s an important year for him.
“We won’t go crazy [about having no substitute for Casemiro], although it was [Marcos] Llorente before and it’s normal [him joining Alaves] as he needs to play.
“Others can play in Casemiro’s position or I can change the system.
“We’ve prepared and arrived well [for the new season]. All players dream of starting La Liga.
“It’ll be a tough season of fighting, but we’re prepared. We must start strongly, yet we have a tough game in San Sebastian. Still, we’re ready to start well.
“Real Sociedad at home are very good, they’ll certainly be very difficult [to face].
“There’s no [recovery] date set for either [Cristiano Ronaldo or Karim Benzema], but Cristiano wants to play and is already back training on the pitch.
“Karim is different, he left [training] today [on Saturday] without touching the ball, I spoke to him and we’ll have to wait until he’s at his best to return.
“There’ll be time to see how Cristiano’s doing, although Celta might come too soon for him.
“[La Liga] is our main objective and the most complicated. Only consistency counts.
“[Marco Asensio] is an important player, I’m happy with how he played the other day and scored. We’ll see who plays [on Sunday].
“There aren’t any goal target [for Alvaro Morata]. I’ve talked to him, he’s willing to listen and he knows the values of this club. He’s improving physically every day.
“[Mariano] will be in the squad. He knows he has others ahead of him but I want him to train to 100 percent. He’s staying and he must fight for minutes.”
