Zidane confirms wish to manage the French national team

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Gazeta Esportiva.com

·12 Oktober 2025

Zidane confirms wish to manage the French national team

The legend of French football, Zinedine Zidane, said this Sunday that he wants to coach the French national team “in the future”, although he emphasized that nothing is certain yet.

“I’m sure I will return to coaching,” Zidane said during the Festival dello Sport, held in Rome and organized by the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“In the future — and I’m not saying it will be now — what I want someday is to coach the French national team. We’ll see,” added the 1998 World Cup champion and 2000 European champion (108 matches, 31 goals).

Zidane with the French national team: favorite

At 53, Zidane is considered the leading favorite to succeed Didier Deschamps, who has led the French national team since mid-2012. The position could become vacant after the 2026 World Cup, if the Bleus qualify.

Video OneFootball

Zidane put his coaching career on pause after leaving Real Madrid, where he managed the team between 2016 and 2018 and again from 2019 to 2021.

During that period, he won two Spanish titles (2017, 2020) and three consecutive Champions Leagues (2016, 2017, 2018).

Leadership philosophy and passion for football

To be a good coach, Zidane explained, “the most important thing is to have a passion for football and a desire to pass something on to the players, what you carry within you, in the deepest part of your being.”

“A coach has an important role in a team’s success; he is responsible for 80%. He transmits his energy, his desire to do things well,” said the former player of Cannes (1988–92), Bordeaux (1992–96), Juventus (1996–2001) and Real Madrid (2001–06).

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