MacDonald relishing Zidane visit

Bournemouth midfielder Shaun MacDonald is looking forward to meeting Zinedine Zidane when they face Real Madrid on Sunday.

The League One outfit take on the Spanish giants at Dean Court in a pre-season friendly that has attracted significant publicity.

An array of the world’s top players are likely to be show, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso all expected to feature.

However, MacDonald, is most excited by the presence of three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Zidane, who will be in the away dugout along with manager Carlo Ancelotti.

“All the lads are looking forward to the game and playing against some of the best players in the world, but Zidane is one of my favourite players of all time,” he told the club’s official website.

“I used to love watching him when I was growing up, so it’s really exciting to have names like that coming here.

“I never missed an opportunity to watch him play and have always admired his style of play and tried to learn from him.

“He was different to other players. He made the difficult things look easy and it would be nice to see or meet him because when a player retires you don’t think you will get the chance.”