Football news - Oops! Dani Ceballos could regret rant after Zinedine Zidane's return to Real Madrid
ByLe Buzz
Published 12/03/2019 at 10:36 GMT
Don’t burn your bridges? It’s a small world?
Dani Ceballos of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Real Valladolid v Real Madrid on March 10, 2019
Image credit: Getty Images
Please insert your own cliché-riddled piece of advice in the comments to reflect the slightly sticky situation that Dani Ceballos finds himself in after Zinedine Zidane returned as Real Madrid manager.
The Frenchman was announced yesterday, 10 months after leaving the same job, and will have been welcomed with open arms by most players. But not Ceballos.
The 22-year-old went on a bit of an outburst over Zidane’s treatment of him last September.
Let’s relive that Radio MARCA interview…
"He [Zidane] would have to explain that, why he didn't give me opportunities," Ceballos responded when asked if his ex-coach had understood him.
"I worked, I tried to make it difficult for him, but a time comes when you see that it's impossible.
"I scored two goals in Vitoria and the next match in Dortmund I played one minute.
"When weeks pass and you don't feel important, it's difficult.
"There was a moment when I took the season to be wasted, we were 15 points off the top of the league and still in the Champions League but I didn't get on the scene."
Ceballos also invested in a fitness coach, such was his lack of action…
"I hired a personal trainer in January because I wasn't playing on Wednesday or Sunday and the intensity falls, I wanted to be at my peak in pre-season.
"It was clear that if Zidane had continued, I would have to look for an exit to come back more ready, but with the arrival of Julen [Lopetegui], everything was different."
And, worst of all, Ceballos gave what presumably he thought was sage advice to Zidane, so he could learn some lessons from the way he was treated.
"I asked Zidane why I wasn't playing because I didn't understand it, he told me he valued the players ahead of me," Ceballos added.
"There was a time in the season when [Luka] Modric and [Toni] Kroos were injured and he changed system to play other players, that burns you a bit and it hurts.
"He was clear with me and I'm not bitter, when I was little I watched him and he was always a star wherever he played, maybe he doesn't know how it feels as a player to be on the bench.
"It will help him in the future to not make the mistakes he made here."
Well, good luck in the coming weeks Dani!
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