Zinedine Zidane’ press conference ahead of the clash versus Atletico Bilbao at Bernabéu this Sunday

This Sunday, Real Madrid will face Atletico Bilbao for the 18th day of the Spanish Football League.

As is custom, Zinedine Zidane showed up in front of journalists in Valdebebas, to answer their questions.

He admitted the difficulties his team had at the beginning of the season but reaffirmed his trust in his players and pledged to continue working in serenity; and said he was proud of the game's balance they are offering the public. He added that the results of these latest games (Real being currently first, in front of Barca and unbeaten after nearly 12 games) is the fruit of hard work and preparation.

He assured that speculations about his future do not affect him and that he will keep on working collectedly.

The game opposing Real Madrid to Bilbao is completely different from the one against Barcelona: “it’s another team with another tactic and players who have their own traits. The preparation for this game is therefore different but my players and I want to end this year in the most beautiful way snatching the three points in front of our public”.

As is usual with him, the white team’s coach did not talk about the arbitration during the game against Barcelona even though he was enthusiastic regarding VAR: “VAR can help in reducing arbitration mistakes in football and can also help referees in their job. But like with any other human creation, it can be flawed and need improvement. I am sure that in years to come there will be refinements.

He said he is happy to play against Manchester City for the eight final of this edition of the Champions League since he sees Pep Guardiola as one of the best coaches in the World and facing him as a coach will be a special occasion, having faced him only as a player.

Answering a journalist who wanted to know if it is not frustrating hearing that he is a lucky coach, the French of Algerian origin said: “it is not, but it’s sad that in football you need to prove yourself every day”. Indeed, winning one Champion Leagues can be luck, but winning it three times in a row is more work than anything else. “This is why”, he added, “I am focusing more on my team’s daily work”.

As for the good performances of Isco, the Casa Blanca’s coach simply answered that Isco owes its progress to his daily work and nothing else.

About his future Zidane after Real Madrid, he answered that he will figure it out on it time but what he is sure about is that he won’t be a coach at sixty years old. He added that what is more important for him is focusing on the present, not the future.

To the question of whether he sees himself as a better player than a coach, he answered that he loved being a football player even but he also loves his current job as a coach.