Zinedine Zidane’s message for Real Madrid players overheard at training ahead of Chelsea clash

Real Madrid face Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tonight

Dylan Terry
Wednesday 05 May 2021 09:31 EDT
Comments
Pulisic pre UCL semi v Real Madrid

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Zinedine Zidane’s passionate speech to his Real Madrid players was picked up by pitchside microphones ahead of their clash with Chelsea on Wednesday night.

The Spanish giants are drawing 1-1 after the first leg of their Champions League semi-final and will need to score at Stamford Bridge if they are to progress.

And while Zidane was rallying his players together, Chiringuito TV managed to catch some of what he was saying.

“We have to be very aggressive because they [Chelsea] are used to that,” he said.

“And afterwards remember to keep the ball, play and enjoy the ball, because that's what's brought us this far.”

The remarks come after Zidane stated in the pre-match press conference that his team were prepared to ‘fight to the death’ in order to reach the final of Europe’s premier competition.

He said: “We're in the Champions League semi-finals, we are all going to fight to the death out there on the pitch. All the players are ready to play, and then of course I have to pick a team.

“All the players are ready to play, don't worry.”

Zidane won the Champions League three years in a row with Real Madrid between 2016 and 2018 before leaving the club.

He then returned in 2019 and is now looking to become the first manager in history to win the competition on four occasions.

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is hoping to make it back-to-back Champions League finals after his Paris Saint-Germain side finished runners-up to Bayern Munich last season.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in