While
legendary striker Raul -- who scored 323 goals in 741 appearances for
the club -- has settled down in New York with his wife and five
children, his former teammate Zidane remains at the heart of the fiery
cauldron that is the Santiago Bernabeu as Real's coach.
The Frenchman has enjoyed much success
since being appointed boss of Los Blancos in January last year, winning
the European Champions League and breaking a Spanish record by going 40 games unbeaten. But Raul admits he never expected the former World Cup winner to become a manager.
"When
we were teammates, I never thought that Zizou in the future could be a
coach," the 39-year-old told CNN World Sport Tuesday.
"But
that's life. I think when he retired, after he tried the second team in
Real Madrid (Real Madrid Castilla), from one day to another he decided
to be a coach, and he's doing well.
"All the Madridistas, we're very happy
for him and we hope he'll stay in this position for a long time. He's a
very nice person, very humble. He knows perfectly the soccer and Real
Madrid and I think the most important thing is that the players are very
happy with him."
A 6-2 aggregate
win over Napoli ensured Real advanced to the Champions League
quarterfinals on Tuesday for a seventh successive year. In La Liga,
Madrid's form has stuttered of late, but Los Blancos are well-positioned
to win the title, trailing titleholder Barcelona by a point with a game
in hand.
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