Zinedine Zidane hoping Real Madrid, 'the club of his life', beat former team Juventus in Champions League final

The Frenchman's side were made to 'suffer' by Atletico Madrid, yet still progressed

Zinedine Zidane took 'the club of his life' to a second successive Champions League final (Getty)

Zinedine Zidane said it will be “special” to play against his old club Juventus in the Champions League final, but that Real Madrid are “the club of his life”.

The French star’s side got through to the Cardiff showpiece after he said they were made to “suffer” in their semi-final second leg at the Vicente Calderon with Atletico Madrid, who scored two early goals in the first 16 minutes to make it a mere 3-2 on aggregate, before Isco scored a clinching strike just before half-time.

Zidane hailed the resilience of Real in reaching their third final in four years.

“We knew we were going to suffer after the first 20 to 25 minutes. They came out very well, and we didn’t. In the last 15 of the first half, we started to play and with the quality of [Karim] Benzema, Toni [Kroos] and Isco, we scored.

“In the second half, we were much better. I’m very happy to reach the final. It’s a long road, and to do it two years in a row, you have to congratulate this squad.

“It will of course be special to play Juventus because they were a club very important to me as a player, and a club that also gave me everything. Now I am with Real Madrid, the club of my life, and it will be a beautiful final.

“They [Juventus] deserved to the final, and so did we,” he added. “I am content and proud to be in the final. It shows I’m doing something right as a manager, but with this squad, all of them are doing something phenomenal. The credit goes to the squad, they are the ones on the pitch, they are the ones who play, who fight, who always do the maximum on the pitch. But we haven’t won anything yet.”