Raul: I never thought Zidane would be a coach... but he must be given time to succeed at Real Madrid

In an interview with BeIn Sport, conducted by Jorge Valdano and reported by AS, Raul said that Zidane’s status as one of the greatest players of his generation will carry through to the squad.

“Now the message he can give his players will come as he was a world class player, among the best in history for what he has won, how he played, and I believe he knows how to convey that message to players of enormous quality,” the now-retired forward explained.

“He really knows what people want. Why not dream that this year might end with success and, if not, he will have been given time so next season could bear fruit, all the work that’s been done.

“Patience is fundamental in football. It’s difficult, because sometimes there is no patience. It’s essential. I think the idea and the way forward should be clear. Projects are two or three years and there has to be a little patience.

“But we have talked about it, it is Real Madrid, and sometimes there’s no patience. But I hope it goes well for Zidane, and I said the same thing when it was Rafa Benitez, I wished the best to him, the players, the fans, because what we want is a Madrid that wins trophies. The best wins at the end and if it's Real Madrid, even better.”

Raul, who played with Zidane at Madrid, was asked if he ever expected the former France international to sit on the bench.

“I think if we’d have conducted this interview when we were players…Zidane, coach? I would have said I didn’t think so, very little chance,” he admitted.

“But here he is. I was with him a few months ago and truth was he was very happy, very involved, with Castilla, to start a second season.”