Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane confirmed that even Cristiano Ronaldo is part of a rotation strategy. The player has often been left out of away games. The manager says this gives him more time to rest.
As was probably expected Ronaldo has been one of Real’s most important players this season. The Portuguese has scored back to back hat-tricks in the Champions League. The first was against Bayern Munchen, the most recent against city rivals Atletico.
However, Zinedine Zidane confirmed plans to rotate between players in Real’s squad. This includes leaving Ronaldo out of some of the games. This will however give the player more time to rest. Ronaldo has played a great number of games during last year. He has also had to deal with injury worries.
Most recently it was confirmed Ronaldo will be unavailable for the game against Granada. The player will be rested. Also, this will help him avoid suspension which he is one yellow card away from. Zidane says he has spoken to Ronaldo about this and that the player understands the situation.
“I speak to Cristiano a lot,” Zidane says. “He knows and he understands well that until now he has always played 50, 60, or 70 games a season. The accumulation of all the years, he knows as well, sometimes you have to stop and rest. “
“I have said before that I don’t want to be the coach that makes Cristiano sit out. I speak to him and all the players a lot and I know that at times players have to rest. With all the games that we have to play in, if we want to be in good form and be at a great physical level then we have to rest players – that’s it. It is a dialogue that we have. We have conversations about it.”
The game against Granda is vital for Real’s chances of winning the Primera Division title. Currently Real is tied on points with rivals Barcelona. The Madrid side is helped by having one game in hand.
