Zidane's "brutal truth" policy had the French manager admitting an unconvenient fact: he is rather unfamiliar with their Club World Cup opponents next Thursday.
Back-to-back CONCACAF Champions, Club América, will be the team Los Blancos will battle against in order to reach a spot in the tournament's final. As uncomfortable as it may seem, Zidane revealed he's had barely a glimpse of the Mexican club's tactics prior to Thursday's game.
"I watched their games along with my staff. I saw their game against the Korean side, a Derby they played recently and one more Cup match and that's it. Honestly, I knew nothing about them until a few weeks ago. We have to sit down, analyze them and decide how we'll play against them," Zidane stated.
Club América is the most-winning team in Mexico. Las Águilas (The Eagles) have won 12 league titles in their 100-year history, and they have already sealed their spot in the Apertura 2016 final, but had to postpone that matchup to play in the Club World Cup. The Mexican side has racked up 16 straight games without a loss, all of them under current coach Ricardo La Volpe, who took the job back in September as Ignacio Ambriz's replacement.
A brace by Silvio Romero (sitting) helped the Mexican side reach the tournament's semi-finals after beating Korean side Jeonbuk Motors.
Speaking about the competition's format, Zidane revealed that Los Blancos will have to deal with a number of issues if they want to add one more trophy, especially due to jet lag and other reasons.
"This tournament is different from the one I played. Added to that, we're a bit tired after the long flight here. We followed the advice of experts that prepared this trip, but to be honest with you, I'm really tired," Zidane added.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
