Zidane: You can't doubt the work Valverde has done with Barcelona
The Real Madrid coach wasn't in a position to mock Barça's European failings
Zinedine Zidane has backed Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde following the Catalan side's Champions League collapse against Liverpool in midweek.
Criticism has rained down on Valverde since the 4-0 semifinal loss at Anfield, but Zidane says you just have to see what he's done at Barça -- the season could end with a second consecutive double -- to realise how well he's done at Camp Nou.
"What do I think of the criticism of Valverde? I'm no one to say whether it's fair or not," Zidane said. "He knows how it is. What he's done until now, he's done phenomenally.
"We can't doubt what he's done, his work, whether it's fair or not I can't say; you have to accept it because that's how it is."
Asked if Barça's European failure improves Madrid's dismal campaign, the French coach added: "No, not at all. You all know the season we've had..."
However, he did take the chance to bring up Madrid's success in the Champions League in recent years.
Zidane said: "It's very difficult to win the Champions League and we know what we did was impressive, winning four in five years is a bit special, it was difficult and complicated until the last minute.
"We value that a lot, but all titles are important, La Liga allows you to be good in other competitions because it's the day to day."
