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Zinedine Zidane eyes Club World Cup glory to kickstart season

Zinedine Zidane says that winning the Club World Cup for a second year in a row "will not be easy", as Real Madrid prepare to face Al Jazira in Wednesday's semi-final.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has targeted back-to-back Club World Cup crowns to kickstart his side's flagging campaign.

Los Blancos have yet to truly get going domestically, finding themselves in fourth place and eight points adrift of La Liga leaders Barcelona after dropping points in six of their 15 games.

Zidane's men also finished second to Tottenham Hotspur in their Champions League group, setting up a daunting last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain in February, though they have already added the UEFA Super Cup and Supercopa de Espana to their trophy cabinet this term.

Ahead of Wednesday's semi-final against Al Jazira at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Zidane outlined his hopes of earning more major honours in the coming months.

"It will not be easy and last year we had a lot of problems before we managed to win it," he told reporters. "There will not be easy games and for just being Real Madrid we are not going to win. We have time to prepare for the game and there are no excuses.

"This is the calendar and whoever we face we need to look at doing what we have to do well. It is normal that during the season you have ups and downs but what we have done so far is very positive.

"We have won two titles [this term] and we are trying to win a third. After this we will have six months to fight for La Liga, the Champions League and the cup."

Two-time winners Madrid beat Japanese side Kashima Antlers 4-2 in last year's Club World Cup final after recovering from a goal down.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid31246167204778
2Barcelona31217362342870
3GironaGirona31205663392465
4Atletico MadridAtletico31194859362361
5Athletic Bilbao321610652302258
6Real Sociedad311311745331250
7Valencia31138103432247
8Real BetisBetis31111283837145
9Villarreal31109124954-539
10Getafe31912103743-639
11Osasuna31116143644-839
12Las PalmasLas Palmas31107142935-637
13Sevilla31810133944-534
14AlavesAlaves3188152638-1232
15Mallorca31613122536-1131
16Rayo Vallecano31613122538-1331
17Celta Vigo31610153346-1328
18CadizCadiz31413142141-2025
19Granada3239203361-2818
20Almeria31111193062-3214


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