"The return to Real Madrid was more difficult than what we thought it would be"

Bettoni had no doubt when it came to speaking about Real Madrid's secret to success. 'Los Blancos' were two points behind Barca when play was stopped, but now they are seven clear with one matchday left. 

For Zidane's number two, the psychological factor was key: "We knew we had to keep winning to wear out our opponents. People thought we were going to drop points in Bilbao and we won, the same at Real Sociedad and then in Granada, the surprise package of the season. As we won all our games, we wore our opponetnts down mentally. 

"Everything begins with our reflection: What are we doing after two months in lockdown? Because here, we broke all concepts of training. The answer was creativity. Not invent things for the sake of inventing, but to think in another way. We saw that we needed mental freshness for our players, so we looked at that aspect. Everyone thinks that we focussed on the physical work, but we didn't."

Bettoni did not deny that the physical aspect is important, but he once again insisted on the mental part and spoke about the team's plan of action during lockdown: "As soon as we had a return date for individual training in Valdebebas, we organised groups of seven or eight via videocnference with a fitness trainer for each group. Twice a week. 

"And us, the coaches, 'Zizou', Hamidou Msaidie and me, took part in these sessions as if we were players. It was a way of getting everyone back together," he added.

He also referred to the kiss he gave the coach after the final whistle, which recalled the ups and downs of the season: "It was spontaneous, like all emotions are. I think we have achieved our best title. With Zizou, things work without even the need to talk and I think in that moment we both had the same memories."

"In fact, our return to Real Madrid in March 2019 was harder than we thought it would be and this season ws very tough. It was always going to be after Ronaldo left and the players were attacked a lot by the media. They were saying that they were old, etc. And afterwards, it's the coach who took charge. We had very good matches in key moments, then disappointments and then the pandemic," he said. 

Finally, he talked about Zidane's style: "It's simple: an attacking team which respects the balance between attack and defence. But I don't know whether we can talk about style like with other coaches where it's very obvious. Zidane and the rest of us are capable of adapting. In some games we know that we must be especially strong in defence and in others, in other aspects."

"This is not an insult to the Real Madrid which just attacked which we could have had at some moment. When we returned to the bench, we said to ourselves that we shouldn't do the same. Not only because Cristiano was no longer there, but because the players also needed another message. Zidane's style is brave because he isn't afraid to adapt. Now we are pressuring more at the other end of the pitch. He's a coach who doesn't fear making decisions and taking risks. Like changing the formation or two players at half-time, for example," he concluded.