Football
ESPN staff 8y

Zinedine Zidane: 'I never lost my head as a player, will never do so as a coach'

Zinedine Zidane said he was keeping a level head after Real Madrid rallied to defeat Wolfsburg in the Champions League, something he also claimed -- a little disingenuously -- to have done as a player.

The former France star was famously sent off in the 2006 World Cup final, his final game as a player, for responding to Marco Materazzi's taunts with a head-butt .

Since taking over Real Madrid in January, Zidane has had mixed results in La Liga but has also found success in Europe, reaching the Champions League semifinals.

Speaking on his 100th day as Madrid first-team coach after the 3-0 win over Wolfsburg, Zidane compared his tenure thus to his playing career, saying, "Being a coach is much, much more difficult.

"I am not worried about what might happen, but focus on what we can do each day to improve.

"There can be difficult moments, but you must be relaxed when that happens. You should not go crazy, as anything can happen in football. I never lost my head as a player, and will never do so as a coach.

"I am not naive, I know there will be difficult moments, we already had some. We just need to be able to manage them properly. That is what I try to do.

"I have a great group, wonderful staff with me. I just keep on learning and moving forward. I like what I do and that is the most important thing."

There was also one moment in Tuesday's game that proved Zidane was perhaps less calm as he thought he was.

After Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio made a fine save to deny Karim Benzema, Zidane reacted by whipping around, tearing a wide hole in his pants leg in the process.

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