WORLDSPORTS
DECEMBER 2013
GUIDING INSPIRATION
Zidane’s legend lives on until today
ISKO’S
MAGIC
A
soccerdigest
s comparisons go, being favourably
likened to the legendary Zinedine Zidane
is hard to beat.
That’s what happened to Real Madrid
midfielder Isco, when Spanish sports paper
Marca produced a set of statistics to suggest
the former Malaga star’s first few games with
Los Blancos proved him to be a more effective
player than the French maestro, who is now an
assistant to Carlo Ancelotti at the Bernabeu.
For once, the hype was at least partially justified. In his first six games in the famous white
shirt, Isco scored five goals, provided two assists and generally controlled the midfield with
a fabulous combination of relentless energy,
mazy dribbling and accurate passing.
Not bad for a 21-year-old new arrival seeking to make his mark at one of the biggest
clubs in the world.
Isco joined Real Madrid from Malaga in the
summer and has scored five times in only six
appearances
Asked about the comparison with his assistant, boss Ancelotti chuckled: “I asked Zidane
if he agrees and he said ‘No, not yet. But he
could be very close in the future’.
“He is very similar in terms of ability and
6
mentality. For Isco to be compared with Zidane
is not bad after the few games he has played.”
Isco rose to international prominence with
Malaga last season, playing a starring role in
the Andalusian club’s unlikely progression to
the quarter-finals of the Champions League,
where they came an injury-time offside goal
away from ousting eventual runners-up Borussia Dortmund.
The midfielder’s outstanding performances
earned him the 2012 Golden Boy award for the
best young player in Europe, and also inevitably sparked serious interest from many of
Europe’s leading clubs – including Manchester
City, whose new coach Manuel Pellegrini tried
desperately hard to take Isco with him from
Malaga to Lancashire.
In the end, though, a personal phone call
from Zidane while Isco was on under-21 duty
during Spain’s triumphant European Championship campaign this summer was enough to
do the trick and persuade him to join Madrid
for €30m – a fee that is already looking like a
bargain.
Zidane won the 2002 Champions League
final for Real with a stunning left foot volley at
Hampden Park. THE GAME
Torres surgery
Di Canio denial
FERNANDO Torres to have scan on knee
injury from Champions League
Chelsea’s Fernando Torres is to have
a scan on the knee he injured in the win at
Steaua Bucharest.
Blues boss Jose Mourinho said Torres
would not be fit to join the Spain squad after
the weekend but hopes the problem is not serious. “The doctor is very confident it’s not a
big injury like we had with Marco van Ginkel
[out for six months],” he said.
Torres, 29, is already out through suspension following his sending off at Tottenham.
FORMER Sunderland manager Paolo Di
Canio insists his sacking was not a result
of a training ground row with his players.
The Italian, 45, was sacked on 22
September with the Black Cats bottom of
the Premier League table.
“There was no training ground bustup as some are reporting,” said Di Canio,
who replaced Martin O’Neill at Sunderland. “Many of the players have since
sent me messages thanking me for my
time as their manager and helping them
to improve as footballers.”
t h e g a m e sports magazine
5 Torres ... knee injury