Day Z
“He comes back“! You remember the legendary front page ofTeam during the return of Zinédine Zidane to the French team before the 2006 World Cup, again almost 21 years later, but this time in the coach’s suit. The FFF will announce the successor of Didier Deschamps who will therefore be Zizou. A press conference is planned for 11 a.m. at the federation’s headquarters to induct and present Zinédine Zidane, the opportunity for the former Real Madrid coach to respond to the media for the first time as coach of the France team. “Generation Z”, adds L’Team. We’ve waited a long time, but that’s it, Zidane is finally where he always wanted to be, at the head of the Blues. It was difficult to keep the secret during all these months of negotiations, it must be said that there was really no other avenue for Philippe Diallo. Zinédine Zidane has always seemed to be the natural successor to Didier Deschamps, an obvious one for everyone, especially since the main interested party has rejected a bunch of offers since his departure from Real in 2021, with the sole aim of waiting for the position of coach. The first day of his new life begins today, and even if Zidane is still the same character, charismatic and shy, the FFF saw the big picture. Blue carpet for the occasion, 120 journalists and photographers accredited for the occasion, it will be difficult to miss a single crumb of the presentation with great fanfare of the most famous bald man in France. Even if for his part, Zinédine Zidane would have preferred a sober press release which could have allowed him to avoid the media flow.
Chelsea digs into the old ones
Chelsea and Xabi Alonso attack Danny Welbeck. Surprise track for the Blues since the former Arsenal player is 35 years old, but he is coming off his best season statistically. Xabi Alonso wants to bring in Danny Welbeck to supervise his team and in particular the young João Pedro whom he knows since they played together at Brighton. Welbeck doesn’t really have the typical profile of the player who signs for Chelsea, but Xabi Alonso chose him and the file is progressing well, which could already push Emmanuel Emegha towards a departure, he who has not played a single match with Chelsea. Moreover, at the same time, Chelsea are interested in Jordan Henderson, 36 years old, but still an English international this summer during the World Cup. The former Liverpool captain could be released by Brentford, and once again, he is an experienced player who is demanded by Xabi Alonso to densify the midfield. At the same time, Xabi Alonso is very happy with the arrival of Morgan Rogers, “the player who was missing” according to him. The Spanish technician also has a very precise idea of how to align him with his friend Cole Palmer.
Yan Diomandé, express trajectory
On the verge of signing with Real Madrid for nearly €120 million, Yan Diomandé has had two completely crazy seasons. Only 1 year and 5 months ago, Yan Diomandé played his first match in Europe with Leganés, on the Real Madrid pitch. A few months later, RB Leipzig took the risk of spending €20 million on a raw talent without any real reference, a choice that paid off since the Saxon club should recover €120 million just one year later. Yan Diomandé knows Spain and we remember him. Borja Jiménez, the coach of Leganés at the time and now at Al-Ahli in Qatar, witnessed the arrival of Diomandé as he explained in Marca : “ I discovered Yan thanks to an amateur video on YouTube that Jeff Luhnow, the owner of Leganés, showed me. He was around 16 years old and attending one of the club’s training centers in the United States. Jeff told me, ‘We have the new Messi,’ and I was amazed at what this kid was accomplishing. » After seeing him play just once with the reserves, the Spanish coach was won over and brought him up to the professional group. Everything will then go very quickly, first appearance, first goal, and transfer to RB Leipzig. Now, it is Real Madrid who are in the process of securing his services to the detriment of PSG.
