Le seul et unique... - A Zinedine Zidane Story.

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JamieT567

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As I sat in my apartment, drinking the last of my beer, it became fairly obvious that my life had got out of hand. It was causing a strain on my marriage, my wife was on the brink of leaving me, I was spending less and less time with my kids, I couldn’t do it anymore.

I thought being the Director of Football for Real Madrid would be a fairly easy job. Not a lot of stress, not a lot of work. It was true, I didn’t really do much. The stress and excitement of everyday life that I had when I was a player had slowly fizzled out in to nothingness. I thrived off it. Living without it, was…depressing.

I made the call. I had become good friends with Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, over time, I had been to his house and met his family, so I knew he would be understanding of my decision. I explained to him that I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t carry on with my job at Real Madrid, I needed something bigger, better, more exciting. He said it was fine, and that I was welcome back at the club at any time.

Before hanging up the phone, Florentino told me to turn on Sky Sports News. I did, and I was greeted by this.

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An opening at Juventus, a former club...my chance?

Edit - Still trying to get the hang of inserting images, anybody know how I can get it so the images aren't so small? Thanks, feedback appreciated also!
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I had played for Juventus for a large part of my playing career, it was a club I loved, so when the chance to manage them came about, I had to take it.

I had gotten the job, it had been a hectic few weeks, moving from Madrid to Turin and all that comes with a move had really tired me out. But I knew I couldn't stop yet, I had my press conference this afternoon. It was going to be a tough one, I was an outsider for the job, people doubted my ability, whether I would be able to do it or not.

As I walked in to the press room, my heart was booming, I was stressed, sweating. I loved it. I loved the pressure, I thrive under it.

I take my seat on the podium and prepare myself for the onslaught from the journalists.



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Journalist - You sit here Zinedine as Juventus manager, many people don't believe you can do it, can you?

Zinedine - It's going to be tough, I've never managed a club before, so It's going to be hard for me. I don't think it's fair to right me off before I have been able to do anything yet.

J - How many changes are we going to see in the next few weeks?

Z - I want to mould the club in to what I want, I am going to be letting a lot of players leave, there are a lot of players who are simply not in my plans. I'm looking to strengthen the defence.

J - What are your goals for this season?

Z - We've got a team that's capable of winning the league, so that's what I wish to do. I would like to go far in the Champions League. I'm looking to build a team that will dominate in a few years, so youngsters are going to be coming in.

J - Do you think bringing in such young players is a risk?

Z - Of course, I'm going to be bringing in players who are not much older than 22 or 23, so they're not going to be experienced that much, and that's going to be a risk. But it's one I'm going to take. This is a long term project. I want to be here for a long time.

J - Lastly, do you have any transfer targets?

Z - Yes, I've looked at a few players, notably Dede from Vasco, and Gregory Van Der Viel from Ajax. Nothing is confirmed yet, but I am also looking at a very good striker.

The press conference finished, I walk out of the press room with a huge grin on my face, it went well, as I walk past Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, he asks if I can join him in his office for a chat.

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I spend about 30 minutes talking to Andrea, we discuss a lot of things about the club, what I wanted to do, how long it would take me, my immediate plans and what I want to achieve in the long term.

Andrea tells me how much money I have this year.

Transfer Budget - £50,000,000
Wage Budget - £2,000,000


​
 
Great start mate, love the layout and story. KIU
 
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It had been a hectic week on tour, we’d played 4 games, in China and South Korea. I was on the plane to Beijing, making match preparations for the upcoming Italian Super Cup match against Napoli.

The day before we had left for China, I had made the last of my signings. I was very happy with the players that I’d brought it. The board were a bit worried with the amount that I had spent, the club were currently £40m in the red, but I was told not to worry.

I had seen a lot of players come and go, but I was finally happy with the team that I had. Our friendly games on tour chose my starting eleven for me.

PLAYERS IN -

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PLAYERS OUT -

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Starting 11 and Tactics -

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Pre Season

SC Cambuur vs Juventus

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Press Conference snippet - "A very good win, we dominated them, Cavani scoring 2 on his debut was magical!"

Guangzhou vs Juventus

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Press Conference snippet - "I changed my line up and tested a few players, it worked, we didn't dominate, but we were very clinical in front of goal today."

Ulsan vs Juventus

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Press Conference snippet - "disappointing not to win this game, although there are plenty of positives that we can take from that match."

Seoul vs Juventus

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Press Conference snippet - "Seoul are a very good team, we expected it to be a tight game and it was, happy with the win today"

Italian Super Cup Final

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Juventus vs Napoli

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Press Conference snippet - "What a great moment in my career today was, I love this club, and bringing a trophy to it in my first competitive game as a manger is a special occasion."


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I was still buzzed from earlier on in the day. Since the win against Napoli, I had slowly made my way home, taking in the Beijing city lights and atmosphere. Luckily I owned an apartment in Beijing, so I was able to make my way back to that following the game at the Birds Nest Olympic Stadium.

It had been a fantastic match, over 40,000 Juventus fans had made the trip from Turin to China, to see their team perform, and that's what we did. We were exceptional. It was a magical performance and a magical day.

I took a sip on my beer. The beer was a lot better in Italy, I would prefer to be sipping on an ice cold Peroni, but instead I have this cheap Chinese beer. Either way, I wasn't going to let that dampen the mood. I was content, excited about what was to come, the start of the domestic league in 3 weeks time against Pescara.

But most of all, I was happy. A lot had changed in the last 2 months since I got the Juventus job. My mood was one of them. Prior to taking the job my life was a mess, but it seemed back on track, for now anyway.

I finished the last of my beer before heading back to my room, my phone let out a buzz, it was a text from my beautiful wife Véronique, it simply said...

"I miss you, and I love you"


​
 
Really like it so far mate. Nice. Looks like you have a strong side too, good luck!
 
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Walking out to a half empty Juventus Stadium was extremely depressing and disheartening. Juventus was a booming club when I was playing for them, walking out to a completely packed Juventus Stadium was the norm back then, but now, it was normal for to see a half empty stadium.

It had been a bad 5 or so years for Juve. The match fixing scandal in the 2005/2006 season had left its mark on the club, and we were still suffering from it now. Naturally, being put in to Serie B had reduced the crowds, drastically, and the club hadn’t quite recovered yet.

Filling the stadium was my priority. Crowds bring money, it’s what we need. The club can’t afford to keep employing players with such a big wage but not be able to balance that out by gaining substantial money from crowds.

Anyway, it was the start of a new era. I hoped.

It was a special day, my first league game as Juventus manager, I wanted to get off to a good start, that was essential. The players walked out first, 25000 Juventus fans screaming for them. But that was nothing compared to what I had.

I stepped out of the tunnel, the flashing lights from the photographers and the screams from the crowds were immense. It was what I had wanted when taking the job, what I needed, what I thrived upon. Let’s get it going, let’s win. For the fans. For me. For the club. For us.

Juventus 3-0 Pescara

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Press conference snippet – “A fantastic win, the fans were phenomenal. What a start”

Palermo 2-2 Juventus

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Press conference snippet – “A frustrating game, we should have won, our defence was not good in this game”

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The Champions League is a special tournament. I’d won it as a player, and I wanted to win it as a manager. My palms were sweating, I was huddled in front of the TV with my wife, watching the draw, in hope of an easy group.

The teams were drawn out, we were put in Group B, our name came out first.

“Arsenal will join Juventus in Group B….so will…Malaga, and Zenit”

Not what I wanted. A tough group, it would be hard to progress.

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Juventus 1-0 Malaga

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Press conference snippet – “We dominated Malaga tonight, we were good, but had to rely on an own goal to win, we must perform better in front of goal”

Juventus 0-1 Sampdoria

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Press conference snippet – “I am not happy.”

Lazio 2-4 Juventus

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Press conference snippet – “We were sensational, the exact response I wanted from the disappointing games against Sampdoria”

Juventus 2-1 A.C. Milan

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Press conference snippet – “What a sensational performance, we played Milan off the park today”

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Zenit 1-0 Juventus

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Press conference snippet – “We were a lot better than Zenit tonight, but we just couldn’t score”

UEFA Champions League Group B Table

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Press conference snippet – “It’s very tight at the moment, losing to Zenit has made the group very even “

Serie A Table

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Press conference snippet – “ We sit second, just behind Bologna, I hope to push on and move in to 1st​ as soon as possible”


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Sipping on my ice cold Peroni, I was thinking about my first competitive month as Juve manager. It had been good. I’m still trying to adapt to being a manager my tactics are lacking in a few areas and it was becoming more obvious. I needed to change things up a bit, change what I was doing, my approach to the team. I didn’t know what I would have to do yet though.

My signings were doing ok, but I’m worried about Cavani. He doesn’t seem settled, maybe I could have a chat with him. I’ll leave it a week, to see how he does next game.

It had been good so far, I was happy. The Turin sky line was beautiful, I couldn’t think of a better place to be. Juventus manager. It was good. I took the last few sips of my Peroni and headed inside.

Veronique and the kids had gone back to Madrid for a week, they weren’t settled here. Veronique had told me she wasn’t all that happy here. So I told her to go on a break. I hope it works out, if she can’t live in Turin, we may have to live in separate cities. Split off from her and the kids.

I didn’t want that.​
 
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Great update

That has to be THE toughest Champions League group I have ever seen. Always tough playing Russian teams away from home.
 
Sam91 said:
Great update

That has to be THE toughest Champions League group I have ever seen. Always tough playing Russian teams away from home.
Click to expand...

Yep a very hard group indeed, not going to be easy to progress!
 
In your first match (vs Pescara) you have it down as Napoli vs Pescara, instead of Juventus vs Pescara.
 
I like it, unique and you can get a feel to what the genius would go. Also I'd be taking 2nd in that CL group!
 
stroudy28 said:
I like it, unique and you can get a feel to what the genius would go. Also I'd be taking 2nd in that CL group!
Click to expand...

Thanks very much.

I would take 2nd with out a doubt, after 2 games we're all on 3 points so anything can happen at this stage. Should be quite entertaining.
 
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