"I was thinking about Cristiano Ronaldo as well" - Albania legend Lorik Cana names Real Madrid hero as player he wanted to play with ahead of Ronaldo
Albania legend Lorik Cana has named Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane as the one player he would have loved to share the pitch with during his playing career. He added that he was considering another Los Blancos legend in Cristiano Ronaldo as a potential answer, but decided to stick with the Frenchman.
Cana played for major European clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Marseille and Lazio in a senior career spanning 13 years. He is Albania's most-capped player of all time with 93 appearances, and captained them at their first ever major tournament, EURO 2016.
The Albanian emerged onto the scene in the early 2000s with PSG in Zidane's native France. As the former's career began to take shape, the latter's was coming to an end at Real Madrid.
Cana called the 1998 World Cup winner one of the most 'brilliant' players in the history of the sport. Speaking to former English centre-back Rio Ferdinand on the FIVE podcast, he said (via Rio Ferdinand presents FIVE on YouTube):
"I grew up a little bit with Zizou [Zidane] and our careers coincided a bit. He is one of the most brilliant players ever to play this sport. I think playing with him would have been something amazing."
Cana went on to name Ronaldo as one of the other options he was considering, adding:
"I was thinking about Cristiano [Ronaldo] as well, but Zizou [Zidane], for me, remains as someone I always wanted to play with."
Lorik Cana faced off against Cristiano Ronaldo four times on the international stage, but with no success
While Albanian legend Lorik Cana named Zinedine Zidane when asked which footballer he would have loved to play with, he also named Cristiano Ronaldo as a potential answer.
Cana and Ronaldo never shared the pitch together as teammates, but did take to the field as opponents on multiple occasions.
The first time they played each other was in an international friendly in 2003. The fixture was an absolute thriller, with Portugal emerging as 5-3 winners over Albania.
After that, the two sides faced off in competitive fixtures in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In October 2008, they played out a goalless draw in Braga; however, in the reverse fixture in Tirana, they won 2-1.
The last time the pair faced off against each other was in EURO 2016 qualifying. Portugal and Albania were drawn together in a group alongside Denmark, Serbia and Armenia.
Cana's Albania had stunned a Portugal side sans Ronaldo in September 2014, snatching a 1-0 win away from home. However, with the ex-Real Madrid superstar back in the lineup, Fernando Santos' side turned the tables and snatched a last-gasp 1-0 victory with a 92nd minute goal from Miguel Veloso.
Portugal went on to win EURO 2016 with a 1-0 win over hosts France in the final. Despite the 1-0 loss, Albania qualified for the tournament, the first-ever major competition in their history, and Cana retired after captaining them at the Finals.