Make a first name. This is what Luca Zidane was looking for when he left Real Madrid and followed in his father’s footsteps in 2020. The younger son of the coach with three Champions Leagues at the head of the merengue club had left the north of the Spanish capital and Valdebebas, for settle in the southern suburbs, near Vallecas. At Rayo, “Luca”, a surname displayed on the back of his jersey, to get rid of a name that may be too heavy to bear, had waited, in the shadow of Stole Dimitrievski. Patient, he had finally played the last seven matches of the 2020-2021 season, including the four play-off matches which propelled Rayo to La Liga.
Inevitably, the French appeared as the legitimate holder at the resumption, in August, among the big ones. But a catastrophic start, with an expulsion after 16 minutes of play, against Sevilla, during the first day (3-0 defeat for Rayo), had pushed his coach, Andoni Iraola to reinstall him permanently on the bench. . Finally holder seven times during the second part of the season, with him the Rayo conceded 6 defeats and 1 draw. Small consolation prize for Luca Zidane, his performances allowed the Madrid club to achieve a great epic in the King’s Cup, only beaten in the semi-finals by Betis.
“Luca” wants to prove in Spain
At the end of the season, Rayo decided to make veteran Diego López (41) Dimitrievski’s understudy and let the son Zidane go. Courted by Montpellier, Luca, 24, had a choice. The European U17 champion goalkeeper with Les Bleuets in 2015 decided to stay in Spain, with the idea of proving that there was a place for him. Direction Eibar, where he signed up for two seasons, on September 1. A club in which the goalkeeper position seemed to be changing. Ander Cantero had finished the season as a starter for the Armeros, but on the restart it was Yoel Rodríguez, who had started in the cage. But now, on October 23, the hierarchy was shaken up.
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— SD Eibar (@SDEibar) December 13, 2022
Integrated into the group at the dawn of the 6th day and remained on the bench for his first six matches, Luca Zidane had arrived on tiptoe in the Basque Country. But as in the previous season, Yoel Rodríguez did not retain the confidence of Gaizka Garitano for very long. The Spanish coach decided to offer his French number 25 a first tenure on October 23. A 1-1 draw against Albacete, punctuated by a save in the last moments, which did not discourage either Garitano or Zidane. Since that date, there is only one holder left in the goal of Eibar, his name is Luca. Aligned in the last 9 matches, he has conceded 6 goals and above all made 4 clean sheets.
Liga objective for Eibar and Zidane
Since taking his place in goal, Eibar have recorded only one defeat (2-1, with a goal conceded in the 96th minute in Cartagena) and remain on a very good record of 5 wins and 3 matches null. Fans, wary of his arrival, are no longer. While La Liga2 did not cease its activity during the World Cup in Qatar, Eibar is on a series of 3 victories and the current leader of a very tight Spanish second division championship, one point ahead of Las Palmas and Levante, two ahead of Burgos and Alavés. Nothing is decided after 20 days, but there is no doubt that with Luca Zidane as the last bastion, used to operations ascent, Eibar is a declared candidate for the rise in the first division.
