Le seul et unique... - A Zinedine Zidane Story.

As I sat in my apartment, drinking the last of my beer, it became fairly obvious that my life had got out of hand. It was causing a strain on my marriage, my wife was on the brink of leaving me, I was spending less and less time with my kids, I couldn’t do it anymore.

I thought being the Director of Football for Real Madrid would be a fairly easy job. Not a lot of stress, not a lot of work. It was true, I didn’t really do much. The stress and excitement of everyday life that I had when I was a player had slowly fizzled out in to nothingness. I thrived off it. Living without it, was…depressing.

I made the call. I had become good friends with Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, over time, I had been to his house and met his family, so I knew he would be understanding of my decision. I explained to him that I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t carry on with my job at Real Madrid, I needed something bigger, better, more exciting. He said it was fine, and that I was welcome back at the club at any time.

Before hanging up the phone, Florentino told me to turn on Sky Sports News. I did, and I was greeted by this.



An opening at Juventus, a former club...my chance?

#60476 JamieT567 : Before hanging up the phone, Florentino told me to turn on Sky Sports News. I did, and I was greeted by this.

Yes, I wouldn't mind being greeted by that face either.
Zizou is a footballing legend, you have big shoes to fill, my friend.

I had played for Juventus for a large part of my playing career, it was a club I loved, so when the chance to manage them came about, I had to take it.

I had gotten the job, it had been a hectic few weeks, moving from Madrid to Turin and all that comes with a move had really tired me out. But I knew I couldn't stop yet, I had my press conference this afternoon. It was going to be a tough one, I was an outsider for the job, people doubted my ability, whether I would be able to do it or not.

As I walked in to the press room, my heart was booming, I was stressed, sweating. I loved it. I loved the pressure, I thrive under it.

I take my seat on the podium and prepare myself for the onslaught from the journalists.




Journalist - You sit here Zinedine as Juventus manager, many people don't believe you can do it, can you?

Zinedine - It's going to be tough, I've never managed a club before, so It's going to be hard for me. I don't think it's fair to right me off before I have been able to do anything yet.

J - How many changes are we going to see in the next few weeks?

Z - I want to mould the club in to what I want, I am going to be letting a lot of players leave, there are a lot of players who are simply not in my plans. I'm looking to strengthen the defence.

J - What are your goals for this season?

Z - We've got a team that's capable of winning the league, so that's what I wish to do. I would like to go far in the Champions League. I'm looking to build a team that will dominate in a few years, so youngsters are going to be coming in.

J - Do you think bringing in such young players is a risk?

Z - Of course, I'm going to be bringing in players who are not much older than 22 or 23, so they're not going to be experienced that much, and that's going to be a risk. But it's one I'm going to take. This is a long term project. I want to be here for a long time.

J - Lastly, do you have any transfer targets?

Z - Yes, I've looked at a few players, notably Dede from Vasco, and Gregory Van Der Viel from Ajax. Nothing is confirmed yet, but I am also looking at a very good striker.

The press conference finished, I walk out of the press room with a huge grin on my face, it went well, as I walk past Juventus president Andrea Agnelli, he asks if I can join him in his office for a chat.



I spend about 30 minutes talking to Andrea, we discuss a lot of things about the club, what I wanted to do, how long it would take me, my immediate plans and what I want to achieve in the long term.

Andrea tells me how much money I have this year.

Transfer Budget - £50,000,000
Wage Budget - £2,000,000

Very interesting - will definitely follow.

#60476 JamieT567 : [
Before hanging up the phone, Florentino told me to turn on Sky Sports News. I did, and I was greeted by this.



An opening at Juventus, a former club...my chance?

Lol, Thats a good few years ago, 3 games into the BSP with Crawley in it

It had been a hectic week on tour, we’d played 4 games, in China and South Korea. I was on the plane to Beijing, making match preparations for the upcoming Italian Super Cup match against Napoli.

The day before we had left for China, I had made the last of my signings. I was very happy with the players that I’d brought it. The board were a bit worried with the amount that I had spent, the club were currently £40m in the red, but I was told not to worry.

I had seen a lot of players come and go, but I was finally happy with the team that I had. Our friendly games on tour chose my starting eleven for me.

PLAYERS IN -



[img]http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/attachments/football-manager-2012-stories/262769d1343597690-le-seul-et-unique-zinedine-zidane-story-ded-overview_-profile-.png/img]




PLAYERS OUT -



Starting 11 and Tactics -



Pre Season

SC Cambuur vs Juventus



Press Conference snippet - "A very good win, we dominated them, Cavani scoring 2 on his debut was magical!"

Guangzhou vs Juventus



Press Conference snippet - "I changed my line up and tested a few players, it worked, we didn't dominate, but we were very clinical in front of goal today."

Ulsan vs Juventus



Press Conference snippet - "disappointing not to win this game, although there are plenty of positives that we can take from that match."

Seoul vs Juventus



Press Conference snippet - "Seoul are a very good team, we expected it to be a tight game and it was, happy with the win today"

Italian Super Cup Final



Juventus vs Napoli



Press Conference snippet - "What a great moment in my career today was, I love this club, and bringing a trophy to it in my first competitive game as a manger is a special occasion."



I was still buzzed from earlier on in the day. Since the win against Napoli, I had slowly made my way home, taking in the Beijing city lights and atmosphere. Luckily I owned an apartment in Beijing, so I was able to make my way back to that following the game at the Birds Nest Olympic Stadium.

It had been a fantastic match, over 40,000 Juventus fans had made the trip from Turin to China, to see their team perform, and that's what we did. We were exceptional. It was a magical performance and a magical day.

I took a sip on my beer. The beer was a lot better in Italy, I would prefer to be sipping on an ice cold Peroni, but instead I have this cheap Chinese beer. Either way, I wasn't going to let that dampen the mood. I was content, excited about what was to come, the start of the domestic league in 3 weeks time against Pescara.

But most of all, I was happy. A lot had changed in the last 2 months since I got the Juventus job. My mood was one of them. Prior to taking the job my life was a mess, but it seemed back on track, for now anyway.

I finished the last of my beer before heading back to my room, my phone let out a buzz, it was a text from my beautiful wife Véronique, it simply said...

"I miss you, and I love you"[/img]

→ This post was edited by JamieT567 (2012-07-30 18:53, 10 months ago)

Nice story line but may i suggest uploading your photos on Imgur

#60519 FMRegen27 : Nice story line but may i suggest uploading your photos on Imgur

My mistake, I've fixed it now!

Really nice personal touch. Keep going.

Yes, really nice personal touch is a great phrase for this

looking good so far. a bit concerned about your main formation though as i doesnt look that good if your looking to dominate teams