Real Madrid will take on Fuenlabrada tomorrow in the Estadio Fernando Torres as they begin their quest for the 20th Copa del Rey title in club history. Will Zidane and company take the Spanish Cup competition seriously? Yes. Here’s why.
An incredible goal from Cristiano Ronaldo in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo in the second leg of the round of 16 was not enough to see Real Madrid through as Los Blancos were knocked out from the competition surprisingly.
Since January 25, 2017, Zinedine Zidane has led his team to a Champions League and La Liga title while also capturing the UEFA Super Cup and Spanish Super Copa titles. But, he wants to win the Copa del Rey maybe more than he wants to win the FIFA Club World Cup in December or the other two early season cups.
Why you might say? Simply because Zidane has never won a domestic cup in his time as a player, or as a manager.
After stints with Bordeaux in France, Juventus in Italy, and Real Madrid in Spain, the midfield legend never won that elusive domestic cup.
So, to say that Zizou is determined to win the CdR at Real for the first time since the 2013/2014 season would be an understatement.
Real Madrid will make the short trip to southern Madrid tomorrow night to face the Second Division B side who has yet to make it to the second division of the Spanish league tiers and it will be interesting to see not only who gets the start for Real, but how focused they are.
In a match against an obviously inferior side, Real Madrid will be expected to pour on the goals and win handily. Zidane will not let his side take this match lightly.
However, he will be without two key leaders in the squad tomorrow as Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos will not be available.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos will not play against Fuenlabrada tomorrow.
— Lucas Navarrete (@LucasNavarreteM) October 25, 2017
Real Madrid want, and need, to erase their memory from the past three years in this competition after losing closely to Atletico in 2015, being disqualified in 2016 due to an ineligible player, and 2017 falling to Celta 4-3 on aggregate.
This match tomorrow is a good chance for Real to get some squad rotation and get a good footing in the cup as a whole.
With a good showing in the round of 32, Real Madrid can ride momentum into the round of 16, where they will likely face a La Liga side.
Zidane still isn’t satisfied with his trophy count and the domestic cup trophy is the one that has continued to elude him since the beginning of his footballing career.
Expect that to change this season and expect his team to be ready and going all out from start to finish.
Next: Zidane’s Real Madrid looking like Benitez’s Madrid