Real Madrid president Florentino Perez (R) presents Zinedine Zidane as new Real Madrid manager. (Photo : Getty Images)
Seven months into his tenure as Real Madrid manager, Rafael Benitez was formally sacked by club officials on Monday and was immediately replaced by B team coach and former player Zinedine Zidane.
The 43-year-old France and Madrid legend, the 11th Real coach in Florentino Perez's dozen years stint as club president, will take over the coaching reins from the 55-year-old veteran manager starting with Los Blancos' match against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
"I am going to put my heart and soul into this job so that everything works out well," Zidane said, as reported by BBC Sport. "I want to do my very best to ensure that this club at the end of the season will have a trophy."
Zidane also thanked Perez for granting him the opportunity to coach the "best club in the world with the best fanbase in the world".
Benitez is one of the most experienced and arguably one of the best football coaches today, but he has been unpopular in Madrid as the club and its fans may have felt that he had not reached the team's standards and expectations.
Calls of his sacking have reached fever pitch after Los Merengues were blown out of the field via a 4-0 trouncing in the hands of arch-rival Barcelona during the most recent El Clásico in November, via the New York Times.
Right now, Real is at the third spot of the La Liga table with an 11-3-4 win-loss-draw record, four points behind league leader Atletico Madrid and two points behind Barça.
"It is an important day for me, it's an emotional day, even more emotional than the day I signed as a player for the club," the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year awardee said.
"I will be working hard with all the players and I think it will go well. I will put all the heart I have into this job for the club. Thank you very much."
