Zidane vows to put ‘heart and soul’ into Real

Signed by the club in 2001 for a then-world record fee of €75 million ($81m), he scored one of the most memorable goals in football history as Real defeated Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final.

“Firstly I would like to thank the club and the president for giving me the chance to coach this team”, Zidane said.

Real Madrid is now a joke to all coaches.No reasonable coach with a reputation to protect will take a job where stability do not exist. Oldest son Enzo (who sports his mother’s surname Fernandez on his jersey) is a midfielder like his father in the club’s C team and has been capped by Spain at the Under-19 level, while second son Luca plies his trade as a goalkeeper in the Real Madrid U-17s. Zidane will take over immediately and has already been introduced by club president Florentino Perez.

Zidane’s name was mentioned by Spanish media every time Real Madrid struggled.

Madrid president Florentino Perez had publicly backed Benitez despite the growing pressure in recent weeks which saw him routinely jeered by his own fans, but is believed to have finally bowed to the will of the players and supporters.

The Frenchman, who won World Cup and UEFA Champions League as a player, had been in charge of the Real Madrid’s B team.

Benitez told journalists that Rodriguez was not “ready to play more than 30 minutes”, while Cheryshev said there was “very little communication” with the coach.

Real are hosting an open training session at their Valdebebas training ground on Tuesday, which will likely be Zidane’s first session with the senior team.

After the game, a glum-looking Benitez tried to avoid questions about his future. The effort made by the team deserves more praise than anything else. “I can’t avoid other people speculating”. Even a couple montha ago, Perez himself had a press conference and said that they believen in their coach and they know that he will be able to deliver better results. But I can make sure that the side works the way it did today.

On the field, the former France great was one of Madrid’s “Galacticos” – the band of glamorous superstars which included David Beckham – and helped to lead the Spanish soccer giant to European and domestic success.

The draw with Valencia follows a poor run of form, which included a 4-0 drubbing by Barcelona and 1-0 away defeat at Villarreal.

Benitez had been criticised for his defensive approach to the game which was not popular among fans and players.