England midfielder Jude Bellingham is being compared to a true legend of the sport.
Bellingham, the all-action midfielder of Borussia Dortmund, has drawn comparisons to French legend Zinedine Zidane.
The ex-Real Madrid star, who won the World Cup, Champions League, and countless other honors, is often the benchmark that creative midfielders set for themselves.
Andres Manzano, a Spanish Director of Football who helped persuade Birmingham City to sign Bellingham, stated to the Daily Mail: “The first time I saw him [Bellingham], he was playing at in an U-23 team at the Wast Hills Training Ground against an older side in a friendly.
“I can remember perfectly that five minutes into the game I asked the Academy Director Kristjaan (Speakman) how old the number seven was.
“I was astounded by his maturity and his composure in a game playing with and against players a lot older than him. I had to ask Kristjaan twice because I couldn’t believe this was a player born in 2003.
“The player I see most in him is Zidane. In part it’s the versatility. He’s capable of playing central midfield, or wide; in a 4-2-3-1 or in 4-3-3 – he is somewhere between a number 8 and a number 10. He’s an all-terrain midfielder with a lot of personality and he is so good on the ball but he also has that size, that enviable physique.
“I don’t like comparisons but if you ask me that’s the one I would make. He reminds me of Zidane, a player who could score, assist, and do a lot of things with the ball and without the ball. England fans are lucky because they have a player who is going to dominate for years.”
