Zidane Iqbal has revealed that the legendary French midfielder, Zinidine Zidane and Paul Scholes were the two players that he admired watching when he was coming through the ranks at United.
Iqbal made his debut for the United first team last season under Ralf Rangnick in the UEFA Champions League fixture against Young Boys and as a centre midfielder. It is easy to see why as a deep-lying playmaker he looked up to Scholes as he was arguably the best midfielder in the Premier League era at controlling and dictating games, so it is no surprise that the coaches at United told Iqbal to model his game on Scholes and learn as much as he could from watching him.
Paul Scholes: long pass masterclass 🔝@ManUtd | #TBT | #UCL pic.twitter.com/2K6fvLsMSa
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 3, 2022
Meanwhile, Zidane, was arguably one of the best to ever do it but as Iqbal was too young to have seen him on TV, he reveals that when he was younger, he would watch Zidane on YouTube.
Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear❤️🤲🏼 pic.twitter.com/HFPVP0WAF1
— zidane iqbal (@z10ane) December 8, 2022
“When I was younger, I’d watch Zinedine Zidane on YouTube,” Iqbal told Pro Direct Soccer. “Also because I used to play a year down a lot, the coaches always used to mention Paul Scholes to me. I’d kind of just base my game off him and put myself in his shoes [via Manchester Evening News].
Scholes enjoyed a remarkable career playing for United as he won 23 major trophies (excluding the Community Shield) with United, including 11 Premier league titles and 2 Champions League trophies [Transfermarkt].
Zidane also enjoyed a remarkable career at the highest level as he won trophies in Italy and Spain with Juventus and Real Madrid respectively, as well as that he won the UEFA Champions League once [Transfermarkt]. The legendary midfielder was also successful on international stage as he won the 1998 World Cup and then two years later, he won the European Championships with France [Transfermarkt].