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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
CReal Madrid38298187266195
2Barcelona37257577433482
3GironaGirona38256785463981
4Atletico MadridAtletico382441070432776
5Athletic Bilbao381911861372468
6Real Sociedad3816121051391260
7Real BetisBetis38141594845357
8Villarreal381411136565053
9Valencia37139153843-548
10Osasuna38129174556-1145
11AlavesAlaves37129163545-1045
12Getafe381013154254-1243
13Sevilla371011164752-541
14Mallorca38816143344-1140
15Celta Vigo371010174455-1140
16Las PalmasLas Palmas37109183246-1439
17Rayo Vallecano38814162948-1938
RCadizCadiz38615172655-2933
RAlmeria38312234375-3221
RGranada3849253879-4121


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