Zidane recalls ‘wonderful’ Juventus years, Agnelli’s phone calls & Del Piero partnership | OneFootball

Football icon Zinedine Zidane remains fond of the five years he spent at Juventus, as he leaves the door open for a potential return to Turin.

The Frenchman is considered one of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch, and the Bianconeri were lucky to have him among their ranks between 1996 and 2001.

During this spell, the playmaker arguably cemented himself as the best player in his generation, and also led France towards its first-ever World Cup triumph in 1998.

Zinedine Zidane opens up on his Juventus days

Zidane eventually left to join Real Madrid on a world-record fee at the time, before finally clinching the Champions League that had evaded him during his time at Juventus.

Nevertheless, the 53-year-old still has fabulous memories of his time with the Serie A giants, while also revealing the early phone calls he had with the club’s legendary owner, the late Gianni Agnelli.

“My years at Juventus were wonderful,” said the 1998 Ballon d’Or winner during his appearance in the Trento Sports festival via JuventusNews24.

“I came from France, where football was great, but not like at Juve. In Turin, I felt that all you had to do was win, always. Both at home and away.

Zidane Zidane (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

“The thing that stuck with me most about Agnelli was that when I was playing well, he’d call me at 6 in the morning to congratulate me. He was a gentleman; you could tell he was a football fan.

“The Champions League is tough to win. We reached the final twice and lost; I don’t know why.”

Zidane also heaped praise on his former teammate, Alessandro Del Piero, with whom he shared a solid rapport on and off the pitch.

“Alex was excellent, one of the best players in Italy. I was fortunate enough to play with him and many others for five years. We had a truly great team, but Del Piero had something special.”

Zidane discusses potential Juve return

The legendary footballer then went on to become a manager. He enjoyed a historic stint with Real Madrid between 2016 and 2018, winning three Champions League trophies in a row. He then returned for a less memorable second tenure between 2019 and 2021.

But when asked about coaching Juventus, Zidane didn’t rule out the idea, but he appeared more enthusiastic about the French national team.

“I don’t know. It just didn’t happen; I made other choices too. I always carried Juve in my heart; they gave me so much when I arrived. As for the future, I don’t know.

“I feel that what I really want to do is to coach France one day, but let’s not talk about that now.”

Zidane’s former Juventus teammate, Didier Deschamps, has been in charge of Les Blues since 2012.

Finally, the former playmaker identified Marcello Lippi as the manager who inspired him the most.

“Of all the coaches I’ve had, the one I learned the most from was Lippi: he was very important to me, because when I arrived in Italy, it was difficult at first, but he always believed in me.

“I first had Ancelotti as my manager, then I became his assistant: he’s a friend, he was important to my career. He was a good coach because he listened to us players.”