Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has hailed Zinedine Zidane and called him as the architect of their La Lga 2019-20 title win. Los Blancos were crowned the champions after they beat Villarreal 2-1 on Thursday at the empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium.
“We really wanted to win this league title and that is what we have done,” Perez told Spanish television network Movistar as quoted by IANS.
“They have all put in enormous performances, especially Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois and Casemiro, while Sergio Ramos is more than a captain.
“They have all built a brilliant team spirit while Zidane is the architect of this title win as he has put the players to work. We are so pleased,” Perez added.
Karim Benzema was the star of the night for Madrid as he scored a brace to help them win their 34th Spanish league title. The French striker scored his first of the match in the 17th minute and followed it up with a controversial penalty at the fag end of the contest.
Vicente Iborra added some tension to the game with a late strike for Villarreal with five minutes to play, but in the end even a defeat would have been enough for Real Madrid to win the league as Barcelona lost their home match against Osasuna.
Earlier, Zidane had called his team’s La Liga 2019-20 win bigger than their 2016-17 victory especially due to the disturbing situation that the world is in at the moment and the effect it had on the players. Zidane asserted that the current title had “a special taste to it”.
“It’s huge. It’s a constant battle. There are 38 games, and only at the end can you achieve something great like today. I’m extremely thankful to the players, first and foremost, because they’re the ones fighting out on the pitch. I have my role and I’m with them, but it’s a team effort. This is a huge achievement, it’s incredibly emotional. It’s very tough to win the Spanish league, very tough indeed,” Zidane was quoted as saying on the official website of Real Madrid.
“I feel extremely happy, for all I have. As you said, the first LaLiga was wonderful, but this one has a special taste to it after two months at home. Then we came back and we prepared in a different fashion, winning a league title which, I think, is always the hardest. We did it, it’s everyone’s success because this is a team and all the sacrifice has paid off,” he added.