Real Madrid’s comeback to eliminate Wolfsburg from the Champions League after going down 2-0 in the first leg of their quarterfinal was arguably the greatest moment of Zidane’s brief managerial career. And as he reacted to a near miss after his side took a 3-2 aggregate lead, he tore his pants.
By doing this, Zidane adds his name to the small group of trouser tearing managers we have previously documented here.
Last year, it was Pep Guardiola who tore his pants in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. Before that, David Moyes did it during his first match with Real Socieded. And then there was Jose Mourinho, who tore the seat of his pants after winning the 2010 Champions League final with Inter.
After Real Madrid’s victory, however, Zidane spoke like someone who didn’t just tear his pants wide open (or headbutt his way to a red card in the 2006 World Cup final). From ESPN FC:
“There can be difficult moments, but you must be relaxed when that happens. You should not go crazy, as anything can happen in football. I never lost my head as a player, and will never do so as a coach.”
No promises that he won’t lose his pants, though.
Zidane ‘never lost (his) head as a player’. Really. I think his head may still be ‘lost’, buried in Marco Materazzi’s chest, to say something like that.