Real Madrid wins UEFA Champions League for 11th time

“It’s very special. I’m very, very happy to win the Champions League as a player, assistant and now head coach,” said Zinedine Zidane (aged 44, France), the master of art soccer, who showed the world that his time has arrived.

Real Madrid, led by Zidane, edged Atletico Madrid 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes in the UEFA Champions League Final on May 29 in Milan, Italy. Atletico reached the final and failed to win for the third time in its 113 years of history.

Real Madrid has won 11 UEFA Champions League titles, including the first 1955-1956 season, and more recently, 2001-2002, 2013-2014, and 2015-2016 seasons. Zidane has contributed to the victories as player in 2002, as assistant coach in 2014, and as head coach in 2016. He led his team to win the Champions League just five months into his tenure.

　

Zidane was appointed in January after Rafael Benitez was sacked following a poor run of results. He has become the seventh man to win the “Big Ear” trophy (Champions League trophy) as a player and a coach, following Miguel Munoz Mozun, Josep Guardiola Sala (Spain), Giovanni Trapattoni, Carlo Ancelotti (Italy), Hendrik Johannes Cruyff, and Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (the Netherlands). He is the second Real Madrid coach to make such an accomplishment, following Miguel Munoz Mozun.

　

Zidane has also become the first French coach to win the Champions League. The head coaches who have won the Champions League are from 13 countries, including Italy (7 coaches, 11 times), Spain (6 coaches, 10 times), the Netherlands (5 coaches, 5 times), Germany and England (both 4 coaches, 7 times). Arsene Wenger, a French, reached the final for the 2005-2006 season as the head coach of Arsenal (England) only to be defeated by FC Barcelona led by Frank Rijkaard (the Netherlands).

“I’m happy because I’ve been part of this great club for a long time. Cristiano was there, as were all the other players, and he’s given us the victory,” Zidane said after the match. Cristiano Ronaldo (aged 31) asked Zidane to let him take the last penalty and brought his team to victory.

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