Bettoni: “Zidane will be with us at Alavés, even if not physically”

David Bettoni will have to assume several of Zinedine Zidane’s responsibilities over the coming days, following the head coach’s positive COVID-19 test. This started with the Friday press conference, as Bettoni addressed the media the day before the trip to take on Alavés.

The assistant started by saying: “I spoke to [Zidane] this morning and he is doing well. He loves football and it’s his passion. He remains happy to coach this great club. Even if he isn’t with us physically these days, he will be with us. The fine details of how we organise [Zidane’s communication with the team] will remain internal. But, he will be here with us. Even if not physically, he’ll be here with his energy. We’ll see how we do it tomorrow. The important thing is that everyone knows he’ll be with us.”

While Zidane is usually a lot vaguer when asked about injuries, Bettoni was to the point when asked for an update. He revealed: “Sergio Ramos is in the recovery process and he won’t be with us tomorrow. Dani Carvajal partially trained today, but he won’t be with us either and will be able to train normally from Monday.” It was also revealed after the press conference that Fede Valverde has a new injury.

Martin Ødegaard, who is about to leave the club on loan, also won’t be available. On that, Bettoni said: “I don’t know too well what happened with Martin as I’m the assistant coach and there are some things I don’t follow too closely. That means I can’t provide the exact context.”