The end of the Didier Deschamps era is approaching. Arriving at the head of the France team in 2012, the former captain of the Blues will leave his post at the end of the 2026 World Cup, organized from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A page is turning, and another could well be written with Zinédine Zidane.
Free since his departure from Real Madrid in June 2021, “ZZ” remains the big favorite to succeed Deschamps. The former French number 10, who experienced a double Madrid adventure between 2016 and 2021 punctuated by three Champions Leagues, has never hidden his ambition. “One of my goals is to coach the French team”he recently confided to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Zidane discusses his return
And Zidane continues to maintain the suspense. Present on Monday at the Mayol stadium in Toulon for a charity match organized by Pascal Olmeta and his association Un Sourire, un Espoir pour la Vie, he slipped in a message that said a lot. “There I’m going to act as a coach for a little bit”he said with a smile, echoed by RMCbefore adding: “Soon too”when asked if a bench position was on the cards.
Deprived of playing, the 1998 world champion had fun giving his advice to the two teams made up of footballers and rugby legends such as Dimitri Payet, David Ginola, Jean-Pierre Papin, Sébastien Chabal and Mathieu Bastareaud. A rehearsal before the big jump?
