 Owen has struggled to find his feet at Real Madrid |
Michael Owen is being tipped to emulate Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid despite a tough start to his career in Spain. Owen scored for England in Azerbaijan and Real's sporting director Emilio Butragueno told BBC Sport that he compared him to the French maestro.
"I remember when Zidane came here - expectations were extremely high.
"People started to criticise us after a month. Now it's the same thing. What Zidane did speaks for itself. We expect Michael to be a similar success."
Butragueno has been impressed by Owen's England performances in Baku and against Wales on Saturday and is now focused on forcing his way into the first team at the Bernabeu.
"Michael has many skills and he is very gifted. He has played very well for England in the last two games and I think he will help Real in a similar way from our current problems.
"He's a strong player, we are sure that he's going to be very useful for us," added Butragueno.
The England striker has struggled for first-team football since his �10m summer move and has yet to find the target in La Liga and has made just two first-team starts.
But Butragueno dismissed accusations the club had bought badly in the summer as "absolute nonsense".
 |  Players need time to adjust yourself to a new situation |
"When signing a great player it's always a great decision," said the former Spanish international footballer. "And that's the case with Michael. It is stupid to say signing him is a mistake.
"We just need to be patient as we were with Zidane.
"We know that when you leave for another country and another team you need time to adjust yourself to the new situation.
To date, the former Liverpool front man has been behind Real favourite Raul and Brazilian star Ronaldo in terms of selection, as well as Raul's international team-mate Fernando Morientes.
But Butragueno also dismissed reports in the British and Spanish press that Owen could make a swift return to Liverpool in the new year.
Hailing Owen as an "integral member of Real's bid to move forward," Butragueno added: "People forget that Michael's already made his mark here.
"There's been some great performances by him - against Mallorca for example. And many more will come."
MMIX
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