Florentino Perez had nothing but praise for Zinedine Zidane and
Cristiano Ronaldo after Real Madrid beat Atletico to the Champions
League
Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo(Omnisports)
Real Madrid president Florentino
Perez hailed coach Zinedine Zidane in the wake of their penalty
shoot-out victory over Atletico Madrid in Saturday's Champions League
final.
Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez as the man
in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu midway through the season and the
former France international led his team to European glory within five
months.
Sergio Ramos gifted Madrid a first-half
lead, before Yannick Carrasco levelled the scoring after the break to
send the game into extra time.
Penalties
eventually decided the match at San Siro, with Cristiano Ronaldo firing
his team to their 11th European Cup success after Juanfran missed from
the spot.
"I feel very proud to be president of Real Madrid right now," Perez told reporters.
"Zidane
has been very important for Real Madrid. He told me the same thing he
told me back in 2001: 'I got it, president.' The players will go to
Cibeles tonight to celebrate.
"Every season is
difficult. We fought right until the final whistle. The Champions League
is in Madrid's DNA. It is the most important competition for us."
On
Ronaldo he added: "The whole world knows that I want Cristiano to stay
at Madrid for the rest of his life. He is one of the pillars of this
club."
Atletico were beaten in the European Cup
final for the third time in their rich history, but Perez had words of
encouragement for the Vicente Calderon side.
"Atletico Madrid have shown over the past few years that they are at a very high level," he added.
"Someday they will win the Champions League."
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