Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was apparently kicked in the face last night during his side’s La Liga match against Celta Vigo when Joseph Aidoo fell over and tripped him up.
The incident took place in the 61st minute of the match when Aidoo, who plays for Celta Vigo, tried to kick the ball before it rolled off the pitch, but his right foot slipped on the ball and he fell over – straight into the Real Madrid manager.
Aidoo slid backwards with his back and head hitting the France 98 hero in the legs, with Zidane then toppling over.
As Zidane’s head comes down, Aidoo’s left foot goes up and appears to hit the Frenchman in the face.
Both players were on the ground for a few moments, before they got back up and play resumed.
It was a disappointing evening for Real Madrid, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw at home.
Celta equalised with just five minutes left on the clock. Speaking to reporters after the match, Zidane said that the result had been “painful”. He was referring to the goal scored in the last few minutes, but he might also have been thinking about the studs he took to the face.
The incident comes as Zidane was involved in another accident last week.
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane rear-ended another car on his way to a training session and he ended up taking a selfie with its beaming owner.
Golder’s News and Sport spoke with the other driver who called the Real Madrid icon “very well-mannered, cordial and attentive the whole time”.
The incident took place on Saturday 8th February in a neighbourhood in the north-eastern part of the Spanish capital city of Madrid.
Real Madrid boss Zidane was driving to the club’s training complex in the area in his plush Audi Rs6 when he rammed Spanish businessman Ignacio Fernandez’s car – a rather less plush Audi Q4 – as they approached a roundabout.
Fernandez, 44, who owns a furniture shop called ‘El Barato’ (The Cheap One) near where the accident happened, spoke with Golder’s and recounted the incident.
He told Golder’s: “Around 9.30am near Valdebebas I was entering a roundabout and I braked a little abruptly, and I was hit by the car behind me.
“I parked up and saw another car speed past me, I thought he was driving off, but then I saw he was parking too. I got out of my car and realised it was Zidane!
“I thought ‘what a relief’ because I knew he had enough to pay for the insurance. I apologised for braking suddenly, but I could not risk it and he told me he was a little distracted and that he was sorry too.”
Fernandez went on to say he and Zidane quickly exchanged details and took pictures of the incident but he did not want to take too long as Zidane is “high-profile” and he wanted “to avoid him being recognised.”
Fernandez joked with the French legend saying “If you want to swap your car for mine, there will be no problem with that” before taking a selfie with him because “nobody would believe me”.
Shortly after, they both got into their respective cars and drove off, but not before Zidane “stopped and asked for my name because he hadn’t quite caught it.”
Fernandez received a call from Zidane’s representative some hours later but did not work out the details for the claim until Monday as he was busy at a furniture fair.
When describing Zidane, Fernandez said he “was dressed very sporty” and was “surprised by how skinny he was and his height.”
He also described him as “very well-mannered, cordial and attentive the whole time” going on to say he and his representative were “very nice”.
During the chat on Monday, Fernandez says he was “thanked for not taking too much time and trying to make everything go smoothly” as “there are many people that spend an hour asking him (Zidane) for things.”
Fernandez said the news started to gain traction after he “sent the picture to a colleague at the furniture shop who is a handyman.
“It turns out he sent it to another guy as an anecdote, who sent it a group and it went viral from there.”
Despite admitting he is “not a big football fan” he said he “leans towards Real Madrid” and has “watched some matches” which made Zidane “very easy to recognise.”
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