5 Real Madrid stars who were national team legends
Real Madrid have always been one of the biggest clubs in Europe, so it’s little surprise they made history by becoming the first team to successfully defend their UEFA Champions League crown.
Their 4-1 triumph over Juventus in Cardiff underlined their legendary status as a giant of the game – but they have consistently been a top club, often seeing some of the greatest names in soccer history represent them.
Plenty of pundits are of the opinion that Los Blancos have the strongest squad in continental football today; they can swap players in and out of the starting XI on a whim and still compete against anyone on their day.
But which historical Madrid legends were equally brilliant for their country? Let’s take a look.
#1 Zinedine Zidane
Current manager Zinedine Zidane was already a club legend before he took the reins of Real Madrid and now, having guided them to two UCL crowns, “Zizou” is untouchable.
A veritable Galactico during his playing days with Los Blancos, Zidane scored almost 40 goals with the club, netted one of the greatest UCL final goals of all time and claimed six major honours.
Whether he has been on the pitch or pulling the strings from the side-lines, he has always been a Madridista, through and through.
With France, the country he represented from 1994 to 2006, Zidane gave equally everything and more. One of the country’s finest-ever footballers, he helped them win the 1998 World Cup on home soil as well as playing an integral role in their European Championship victory two years later.
A centurion for Les Bleus, Zidane earned an astonishing 108 caps (74 of which saw his side emerge victorious), scoring 31 goals (10 of which came during major tournaments) and will always be fondly remembered as a loyal servant who was the elegant engine of a team that broke down racial and cultural barriers to prove that football could unite absolutely anyone.