MADRID: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has warned Liverpool that his side are as hungry as ever to win the Champions League, rejecting claims that the Spanish giants might have lost their edge ahead of Saturday’s final in Kiev.

There have been some suggestions that Real, having won the past two finals, might not be as motivated as Liverpool, with the English club not having tasted European glory since 2005.

“No one can tell us we are less hungry,” Zidane told a news conference. “I can’t talk for the opponents, but we want to stress we always have the same desire as we always do, we will always have the same motivation, the same as always, no one can tell us we are less hungry than the rest.

“We’re in a third final and we have the chance to do something historic and win it three times in a row. You can’t say Liverpool have more hunger than us; it simply isn’t true.

“Nobody can take our hunger away from us. We’re Real Madrid and despite what we have, we always want more, and we will give everything to get even better.”

The Frenchman also said that his side’s experience of playing in and winning three finals in the past four years will have no bearing on the outcome. By comparison, no player in the Liverpool squad has reached this stage of the competition before.

“It’s a one-off game, in a neutral venue. Were ready for it, but our experience doesn’t count,” Zidane said. “Granted, we have more, but we need to show that we want to win it. Our experience doesn’t count for anything. It’s a final, they [Liverpool] haven’t played in a lot of them, but they’ll kill themselves for this and we know it.”

Zidane also has his own personal achievements to draw upon, having won the most coveted prize in club football three times as a player and manager combined.

“It’s true I lived 18 years as a player inside the changing room, with many coaches, with many players, with just as much ego as me,” Zidane, who won a Champions League as a player with Real in 2002, said.

“I know the changing room and I know the mind of a player and that is an important thing for me, but it is not the only thing. I am not the best tactician, but I have other things — passion, motivation — and those are worth much more.”

Zidane said making it to the Champions League final was extra special this season because of their struggles in the La Liga and Copa del Rey, competitions they failed to win.

“We played against the three best teams in Europe,” Zidane said, referring to the Champions League victories against Paris St Germain in the round-of-16, Juventus in the quarter-finals and Bayern Munich in the semi-finals. “There’s a lot of value in that after the difficulties that we faced throughout the season.”

Real can become the first team to win three straight Champions League titles in the tournament’s current format. They became the first to successfully defend their title last season.

“We’ve won the last two finals so it may seem something easy to do, but we know that it’s not,” said Real left-back Marcelo, a three-time Champions League winner. “We know how hard it is to go through each training session and each game. It’s tough to make it to the final and we are determined to win it.”

Marcelo is one of the 12 Madrid players trying to win the competition for the fourth time. Cristiano Ronaldo can lift his fifth Champions League trophy, as he also won it with Manchester United in 2008.

“I love to play in this competition,” said the Portuguese attacker. “You need to beat the best in the world to win it. You always have to be motivated.

“I have a lot of respect for them [Liverpool], but I think Real are better. We have to realise the history we can make and we need to show our experience. It’ll be something historic, we’re really up for it.”

While Liverpool have made it to their first Champions League final since 2007, Real are chasing a fourth European triumph in five years.

“This is what you work for,” Real captain Sergio Ramos said. “It is why you sacrifice and make all the effort. It is the reward for all the hours that you take away from your family and friends. You want to reach an elite level because you have to give up many things and there is no better reward than the Champions League.”

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2018