The French manager has outlined the most important things he had to do to become a great footballer.

Former midfield star and current head coach of Real Madrid Zinedine Zidane has explained that living a healthy life and staying indoors was the backbone of his illustrious career during his playing days. The Frenchman joined Los Blancos from Juventus in 2001 and enjoyed the success of lifting the UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles alongside the likes of Raul Gonzales, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Luis Figo to name a few.

Despite the caliber of players around during his playing time, Zidane regularly rose above his equals and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003. The ex-Juventus and Real Madrid midfielder also won the 1998 Ballon d'Or.

Nonetheless, the current Los Blancos boss has revealed that the journey was far from rosy as he had to make lifestyle adjustment in order to play at the highest level for long. Speaking to OTRO, the Frenchman gave an account of how his career took shape, stating that he had to sleep well, avoid night outings, drink water and do stretches to maintain his top form.

"It was clear to me from the start that all I wanted to do was play football. But I had difficulties at school and my parents told me off.

"I knew full well that I didn't have an ideal attitude. Then, one day they told me: 'we know you have something on your mind, so do what you want to do.'

"Once I had my parents' permission, I focused on giving everything to achieve what I wanted to. On arriving at Cannes, I saw professionals training and told myself: 'I want to do this.'

"From this moment on, I did everything I could to become the best," Zidane continued.

"I slept well, I wasn't an idiot going around bars, I only drank water and did stretches," he said.

"I put everything into becoming the best player possible, I had to do it at all costs. This is how I could make my parents happy because it was my life, but I also did it to make them proud.

"To make yourself known, and then play, you had to be good, not like today. First, you had to show that you were different from everyone else because at the time there were a limited number of players - only one or two youngsters per team.

"Today it's all changed, it goes much quicker, and as for the players, they're no longer afraid of making mistakes."