Football: Capello praises Zidane, Santos in awe of Ronaldo

Dubai - Santos credits Ronaldo's dedication and teamwork in helping Portugal win the Euro title

Former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello has heaped praise on Zinedine Zidane for the way he has handled the Los Blancos in his first season at the helm.
Zidane, who was understudy to Carlo Ancelotti, before taking the full time role following Rafael Benitez's axing this January, led Real Madrid to the UEFA Champions League title this season. And earlier this month, Real Madrid also went on to win the FIFA Club World Cup.
Capello, who had two spells with Read Madrid, apart from managing AC Milan, AS Roma and Juventus, in his homeland Italy, said that Zidane has adapted well to the demands of modern day coaching.
"Zidane is working really well and he is really intelligent in the sense that he prepares the team for every game in a different style," Capello said on the sidelines of the 11th Dubai International Sports Conference on Wednesday.
"He has really important players in (Gareth) Bale, (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Karim) Benzema and others as well. He is a really good manager and he has learnt quickly as assistant coach under Carlos Ancelotti and also with the second team of Real Madrid. He understands what he needs to do when he works alone," added the former England and Russia manager.
Meanwhile, Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who was won the Best Coach of the Year award at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Tuesday night, credited Cristiano Ronaldo's dedication and teamwork in helping Portugal win the Euro title as well as the Champions League and the Club World Cup with Real Madrid.
And Santos believed that Ronaldo, who won the Best Player of the Year at the Globe Soccer Awards apart from the Ballon d'Or earlier this month, is still unstoppable and will carry on for a long time to come.
"You never know, because Cristiano (Ronaldo) is crazy, he is amazing. He has only one focus which is to win, win, win. He works a lot every day and he has one programme for himself," said Santos.
"He hasn't changed and he is still the same. He has the same dedication which he had when he arrived on the scene. Cristiano is a genius," added the 62-year-old.
Meanwhile, the second and final day of the Conference saw Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery, Santos and Capello speak on ‘The Role of Coaches for Football Integrity.’
Former Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea player Samuel Eto’o, former Argentina and Inter Milan player Javier Zanetti, who is now the Vice President of the Italian club, as well as AS Roma’s Mohamed Salah, talked about the ‘Successful Requirements for Professional Players.’
The third session saw FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Victor Montagliani, Concacaf President and FIFA Vice-President, speak on ‘The Importance of Governance in the Success of International & Continental Football Bodies.’ 
james@khaleejtimes.com