Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane recalled his son Luca to the starting line-up for his side’s La Liga clash at home to Huesca on Sunday, giving the goalkeeper his first game in any competition for over 10 months.
Luca Zidane, 20, made his debut for Madrid against Villarreal on May 19, the final day of last season in what proved to be his father’s last La Liga game before he resigned from the job after winning the Champions League.
In that match, Luca made a couple of impressive saves but committed a glaring mistake which allowed Samu Castillejo to equalise for Villarreal in a 2-2 draw.
Keylor Navas, who started the first game of Zidane’s second spell as manager before the international break, drops to the bench while there is no place for the injured Thibaut Courtois.
Luca, who is the No. 1 goalkeeper for Real Madrid’s reserve side Castilla, was completely discarded by Zidane’s successor Julen Lopetegui, who did not include him in the matchday squad for a single game.
He also failed to play any first team football under Real’s next coach Santiago Solari — although he was named on the substitutes bench for four games in January, when Courtois and then Navas were out.
Zidane, who returned as Real’s coach on March 11 after Solari was sacked, named an experimental line-up against struggling Huesca, handing Brahim Diaz his first start for the club since joining from Manchester City in January.