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Zinedine Zidane has been appointed as the new Real Madrid Castilla manager, which will be his first job as first coach after assisting Carlo Ancelotti last season.

The Frenchman has often expressed his desire to start a managing career on his own. Despite he has been rumoured to take his first job as manager at Girondins Bourdeaux this summer, Florentino Perez has finally convinced him to lead the new Castilla’s project.

Madrid’s reserves team has been relegated to the Spanish third division -known as Segunda B- this season, and will undergo a complete renewal that will start in Zidane.

The club has informed about this new appointment with this press release:

Zinedine Zidane will manage Castilla next season. Zizou, who was Carlo Ancelotti’s first squad assistant coach this year, will start a new stage of his career at Real Madrid. Zidane will be joined by youth coach Santiago Sánchez and has already started working on future plans for the reserve team squad.

Zidane’s main purpose at Castilla will be to bring the team back to the second division, while working with the youngsters to prepare them for a future career with the first squad.

Florentino Perez confessed last year that he would like to see Zidane as manager of Real Madrid some day, and he might have plotted this strategy for preparing Zizou to become Carlo Ancelotti’s replacement when the Italian leaves the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Angel di Maria

Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria has said his Argentina side is lucky to have Leo Messi in their ranks and should to everything possible to make life easy for the Barcelona man.

Although rivals at club level, di Maria and Messi are part of a fearsome Argentina attacking line-up that also includes former Los Blancos player Gonzalo Higuain and Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero.

Argentina, who last won the World Cup in 1986, have won both their games so far in their group. They have been unconvincing in their performances though, and Leo Messi has had to dig them out of a hole in both – scoring a 91st minute goal to see off a dogged Iran and netting the winner against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Speaking to FIFA.com, di Maria said: “I think the people who played with Diego [Maradona] and the guys who run out with Leo today have been very fortunate.

“They got the best out of Maradona then, and we need to get the best out of Messi now. I think he’s in fantastic form and let’s hope it stays that way.

“What really matters is the support we give Leo. The idea is to make him feel as comfortable as possible. In the long run, that’s the most important thing for all of us.”

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Real Madrid left back Marcelo is being linked with a move to Premier League side Tottenham according to media in England.

The 26-year-old, who is Brazil’s first choice left back, had a very good season at the Bernabeu, but towards the end of the season was left on the bench as head coach Carlo Ancelotti preferred Fabio Coentrao.

After seven years at Real, Marcelo may feel that it is time to try out the English Premier League, and according to The Daily Mail, new Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has prioritised Marcelo as a key signing.

Tottenham see the left back position as the weakness in the team, and Pochettino is not undeterred by the Brazilian’s price tag, with him being contracted to Real until 2018.

If Spurs are unsuccessful with their pursuit of Marcelo, with Ancelotti reportedly wanting to keep both Marcelo and rival Fabio Coentrao, who ironically was strongly linked with a move to White Hart Lane during the Gareth Bale transfer saga, Pochettino may move onto his compatriot Marco Rojo, who would cost much less from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon.

Marcelo made a big impact in La Decima for Real, coming off the bench to score the key third goal in the 4-1 win.

 

 

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Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has refused to be drawn on his future with the Spanish national team.

The 32-year-old took his place in the starting 11 for La Roja’s last game in Brazil against Australia before they head home following an early exit after damaging defeats to Holland and Chile.

Alonso’s future has been thrown into doubt back in Spain after he criticised teammates for a lack of hunger and desire in the tournament, with many pundits suggesting it is time to replace the veteran midfielder with younger players.

Speaking to journalists after Vicente del Bosque’s side had strolled to a 3-0, Alonso dismissed rumours it was he last game for the national side, and that he was yet to decide on his international future.

“I’m still not at that stage where I want to decide. What I want is, unfortunately, to finish this World Cup, go on vacation, disconnect a bit and then do one thing at a time,” Alonso said.

He was also asked about talk of dressing room unrest, but stated that what is said within the changing room stays there. “I will not say the things that happened in the locker room,” he said.

Alonso added: “Our deficiencies depend on how you want to understand them. I think it is my perception but also that of many of my colleagues. We did not have the required voltage, or the competitive level against Holland and Chile. The co-existence between players from different clubs is the same as two years ago. Everything is much more natural, there are no such tensions that you might think. I hate talking about it.”

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The Madrid press is still very much focused on the Spain team following their early exit from the World Cup. The players have arrived home now – their plane was struck by lighting yesterday as it landed in Madrid – and much analysis is going on as to what the future holds.

Looking at Real Madrid news, we’ll start with the story that the infamous Beckham Law is to be abolished by the Spanish Ministry of the Treasury under new tax reforms. The law, established in 2005, and named after Beckham following his arrival in the Spanish capital in 2003, was put in place to attract foreign workers to Spain in areas other than football.

But football clubs in Spain had an advantage over others elsewhere as players would only have to pay the minimum income tax rate of 24% tax on all their annual earnings.

AS has an interview with Gareth Bale’s Spanish teacher in which he says the Welshman is progressing well and is keen to be fully integrated as soon as possible. Michael Gómez Dobrott is half Spanish, half American, and has been teaching Bale since he signed from Spurs last season.

He told AS: “He’s a good student. He asks me to send him more homework as he is keen to integrate quickly. At first I found it strange – I was sending homework to Bale! Having said that, I felt comfortable from the start. He’s very down to earth, and even remembered my birthday and gave me one of his shirts!”

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Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has been knocked out of the World Cup after his team, Croatia, lost 1-3 to Mexico in the last match of the group stage. The Balcan team came third in their group, behind Brazil and Mexico, who will move into the last-16 round.

Modric played the whole 90 minutes, but he was unable to help his side earn the victory they needed.

On the other hand, Marcelo helped Brazil clinch the first spot of Group A by beating Cameroon 4-1. Real Madrid’s left-back played a great game both in defense and attack. Neymar scored a brace to become the top scorer of the tournament with four goals.

Spain also played their last match in Brazil and earned their only three points in the tournament after trashing Australia 3-0. Vicente del Bosque made a lot of changes in the starting eleven and only two Los Blancos players featured in the game: Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos.

The Basque midfielder was replaced in the second half. Real Madrid home-grown midfielder Juan Mata also came in in the second half and scored Spain’s third goal.

The Netherlands, with former Real players Arjen Robben and Wesley Snejder, secured the first spot in Group B by beating Chile 2-0. The Chileans will face Brazil in the next round, while Holland will meet Mexico.

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Real Madrid star man Cristiano Ronaldo has said Portugal have been very average at the World Cup and don’t deserve to go far in the tournament.

The 29-year-old played in his country’s draw with the USA on Sunday night as Portugal salvaged a point in the final minute of the match. Having lost their opening match to Germany, Paulo Bento’s side are facing a real fight on their hands to go through to the last 16.

The need Germany to beat USA, and must win against Ghana in their final group game later this week. They must also achieve a six goal swing to overhaul the Americans into second place.

Ronaldo has looked off the pace in the tournament, still suffering the effects of the tendinitis problem he had towards the end of the campaign with Real Madrid. His performance against USA was better than against Germany, and he set up the last minute equaliser with a teasing cross.

But after the match the Ballon d’Or winner, who scored more than 50 goals for his club last season – the fourth consecutive year he has done so – said Portugal have not been up to the task so far.

“Maybe we are an average team. It would be a lie to say that we are a top team. We have a very limited team and we are not at the best level,” he was quoted by the Daily Mail.

“This does not enable you to beat top teams. There are no miracles. We knew we would have a tough group, with perhaps teams better than us. “I am not a hypocrite — I never thought we could be world champions, we have to be humble and know our level,” he added.

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Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has said he is relishing his return to his hometown Cardiff with his club in August.

Los Blancos take on Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup at the Cardiff City Stadium, and the 24-year-old says he is excited to be able to play in front of his family and friends for the biggest club in the world.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a hugely successful first season at the Santiago Bernabeu and struck up a superb understanding with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The Welshman scored the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona before netting the crucial second goal in the Champions League final against Atletico de Madrid which secured the 10th European Cup for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Having had the summer off to rest and recuperate, with Wales not taking part in the World Cup, Bale is eager to get going again.

Speaking to Marca, he said: “I’m eagerly awaiting that game at the Cardiff City Stadium, to be able to play in front of my friends and family. The city has changed in recent years, it’s hosted several world-class sporting events and this year’s Super Cup is another opportunity to showcase the Welsh capital.”

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Zinedine Zidane might leave his job as Real Madrid’s assistant manager to become Real Madrid Castilla’s coach. The French international is among the candidates to replace Jose Manuel Diaz Fernandez after the team has been relegated to the Spanish third division.

Zidane has long insisted he wants to start a career as a manager. In fact, he was expected to leave the Santiago Bernabeu this summer to take the job at Girondins Bourdeaux. However, Carlo Ancelotti seemed to convince him to stay one more season at his side, and Zizou told the press he wouldn’t leave this summer.

However, the fact that he will stay at the club doesn’t mean he will have the same role. Sources have reported that Florentino Perez has offered Zidane the job at Castilla, a young team that will fight to get back to the second division next season.

Perez has also confessed he would like to see Zidane some day as Los Blancos boss, and this could be the first step.

Nevertheless, Perez is also considering other options. Former Real Madrid defender Luis Miguel Ramis, who now manages the Under-19 team, has also been linked to the job thanks to his great results with his current squad.

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Spain won their last group game against Australia yesterday evening before they make their way home from the World Cup. The match had a real end of era feel to it, with no Iker Casillas or Xavi, while there were last appearance in a Spain shirt for the likes of Fernando Torres, David Villa and Xabi Alonso most likely.

The press this morning is in positive mood, looking forward to the future. Both Marca and AS go with headlines about how Spain will be back soon, and the next challenge facing them is to defend their European Championship crown.

Turning to Real Madrid news, the talk today is all about the strikers. Firstly, the slow progress on Alvaro Morata’s drawn out exit seems to be picking up again. The youngster is keen to leave the Santiago Bernabeu in search of first team football and has been linked with a number of clubs.

Arsenal were believed to be the favourites for his signature, but it looks like Juventus have moved ahead and are prepared to up their opening offer to 18 million euros to clinch the deal – according to AS.

Meanwhile, there has been some doubt over Karim Benzema’s long-term future in the Spanish capital, but Marca says the Frenchman is looking forward to continuing his stay with Los Blancos.

The paper claims him and Florentino Perez sat down before the World Cup to discuss a new contract, and while money wasn’t spoken about, Benzema is convinced he will remain a Real Madrid player for years to come.

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