Zinedine Zidane led Real Madrid to its third consecutive Champions League title on Saturday.GETTY IMAGES
Real Madrid Manager Zinedine Zidane made the "surprise announcement" on Thursday that he is leaving the club after winning an unprecedented third straight Champions League title, according to Joseph Cassinelli for REUTERS. Zidane said, "I think it's the moment, both for me, the team and the club (to step down). It's a strange moment to do so, I know, but an important one too. I had to do this for everyone." He became the first coach to win a third straight European Cup when Real beat Liverpool 3-1 on Saturday. Zidane: "After three years, it's my decision and perhaps I can get it wrong, but I think that after such time it is the moment. If I don't see that I think we're going to carry on winning, if I don't see things as I want them to be, a moment arrives where you say it's better to change" (REUTERS, 5/31). In London, Cassinelli reported Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez described the decision as "completely unexpected." Most "initially assumed" Thursday's press conference would be to announce a new contract for the 45-year-old (LONDON TIMES, 5/31). Also in London, Murad Ahmed reported Pérez said, "After winning the Champions League, I wasn't expecting this. He knows I loved him more than any other player or manager" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/31).
'WORN OUT': ESPN.com's Gabriele Marcotti wrote Zidane used the word "desgaste" -- the same choice of terms used by Pep Guardiola when he left Barcelona six years ago -- and it has a specific meaning: "Worn out, out of gas." Is he leaving because he knows that victory in Kiev cannot "paper over a season that saw Real finish 17 points out of first place in La Liga?" Maybe. But even then, "the enormity of walking away while on the verge of further cementing his place in football immortality is staggering -- particularly since this is a team that is built to win here and now." Maybe the post-match statements from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale -- "with both men talking, albeit in different circumstances, about hypothetically moving on" -- were not "entirely coincidental." Maybe they knew this would be "the summer of upheaval" and they "wanted to test the waters early" (ESPN.com, 5/31).
