PARIS (AP) — Moments after being announced as France's new coach on Tuesday, Zinedine Zidane clenched his fists and his usually measured voice trembled a little.
“I’m excited,” he said. “The France team makes you dream. We have extraordinary players, an extraordinary team.”
Zidane coached Real Madrid until leaving in 2021. He replaces Didier Deschamps at the helm of France team he led to glory as arguably its greatest ever player.
“I’ve waited five years
for this chance, so that’s why I’m a bit emotional,” said Zidane, adding that it was the happiest day of his career as coach.
“I’ve always watched this side as a fan and also as a future coach, I won’t hide it.” Zidane added. “That’s why I didn’t take a club side. I told myself that the only thing I wanted to do after Madrid was taking the France team.”
French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo announced Zidane’s appointment at the FFF headquarters in Paris on Tuesday, saying he has been given a 4-year contract.
Diallo called the hiring of Zidane “an exceptional moment,” calling Zidane “one of the legends of French soccer.”
The 54-year-old Zidane could have gone to another club after leaving Madrid in 2021. But there was no way he would.
“I had some offers during the five years I was away to take charge of a club,” he said. “I turned them all down for the France team. It was the only thing I wanted to do.”
Zidane called it “an immense joy” taking charge.
“I have so many emotions,” he said. “I am ready for the challenge.”
Zidane praised Deschamps, who won the 2018 World Cup and stepped down after the recent edition, where Les Bleus lost in the semifinals to Spain.
“I will give everything so that this team can win,” Zidane said. “I would also like to congratulate DD (Deschamps) for these remarkable years.”
Diallo said he met Zidane for talks in February, 2025 after Deschamps said he would stand down following the 2026 World Cup. Zidane said France would play differently to how it did under Deschamps.
“What motivates me is the game, I was a No. 10, I like goals,” Zidane said. “I was a leader on the field and now I want to be a leader by experience.”
His first game will be away to Turkey in the Nations League on Sept. 25, followed by a match in Belgium three days later.
Home fans need to wait until Oct. 2 for a glimpse of Zidane at Stade de France, when France plays Italy, 20 years after he was sent off against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi.
“I’ve noted all of the four matches to come,” Zidane said, tapping his forehead. “Italy is special, because I played there, because I know people, because I speak Italian. All of those things.”
After the announcement, Zidane greeted a large gathering of fans outside the federation headquarters and they cheered loudly when he arrived.
France lost the World Cup final on penalties in 2022 and lost the European Championship final on home soil in 2016. Some Deschamps critics, among them former France teammate Christophe Dugarry, said he should have won more with the players he had.
Deschamps described an “an unbreathable atmosphere” at the end of his tenure, without detailing what the tensions were.
Zidane and Deschamps were different types of midfielders, but are forever linked by glory.
The industrious Deschamps was France’s captain and the mercurial Zinedine was the creative force when France won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
Affectionately nicknamed “Zizou” his face was beamed onto the Arc de Triomphe the night France celebrated its first World Cup triumph in ’98. An inspired Zidane scored two headers in the final in a 3-0 win against Brazil at Stade de France and later that year he won the Ballon d’Or.
Born in Marseille to Algerian parents, Zidane grew up playing in the estate of La Castellane, which has a giant mural of Zidane on one its tower blocks. It was on the estate's concrete pitches where Zidane nurtured his incredible balance, to avoid falling on the rock-hard ground.
Zidane’s club career took him from Cannes to Bordeaux and then to two of the world’s biggest clubs: Italian giant Juventus and Madrid.
His international career began in 1994, when he scored two stunning goals against the Czech Republic after coming on as a substitute, in front of his home fans in Bordeaux.
He won league titles with Juve and Madrid and scored a brilliant volley to help Madrid win the Champions League in 2002.
With Zidane carrying an injury, France flopped at the 2002 World Cup — going out in the group stage — but reached the 2006 final after Zidane came out of international retirement.
His performance in a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the quarterfinals was Zidane at his balletic best: a hypnotic combination of drag-backs, stepovers, spins on the ball, and flicks over the shoulder.
The Brazilians were in awe and even Ronaldinho — a Ballon d'Or winner himself — seemed captivated.
His 108th and final game for France was against Italy in the final and he scored early with a deft Panenka-style penalty for his 31st, and last, international goal.
Then, with millions watching around the world, an infamous moment saw him walk back up the field and slam his forehead into Materazzi’s chest, sending the tall defender flying backward.
Zidane trudged past the gold-tinted World Cup trophy as he left the field in Berlin, his international career over.
Now he has another chance to lead Les Bleus to glory.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
