Ex-Real Madrid coach Zinedine is happy to wait for France’s national team job to become available rather than rushing back to club football, although Didier Deschamps is expected to remain in the role until at least the 2022 World Cup when his contract expires.
Zidane finished his second spell as Real coach at the end of last season. He had won La Liga 2019/20 but failed to replicate the incredible success of his first management during the need for a fairly extensive team structure and reconstruction in challenging economic times.
Zidane left Real Madrid earlier this summer / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
The 49-year-old was briefly linked with Juventus after Andrea Pirlo, but Massimiliano Allegri instead ended up returning to his previous role there.
Before Euro 2020, Zidane had already tipped to wait for the France job when it became available. It was possible that things could have been accelerated by Les Bleus’ disappointing tournament, which ended in defeat against Switzerland in the first knockout round.
But with a quick decision that Deschamps will continue in the job, Zidane must still be patient. If the current boss leads France to the next World Cup in November and December 2022, the position will not be available to Zidane until early 2023.
L’Equipe reports that this is not a problem for him. He is still “ready to wait” and can imagine almost “nothing else” than becoming France’s head coach. Meanwhile, it is also said that he has been spending time with his family since leaving Real at the end of May.
Zidane would like to follow in Deschamp’s footsteps as a member of France’s golden generation who won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 and then continued to have similar success as manager. Deschamps took France to the final of the European Championship 2016 and since 2018 joined an exclusive list of individuals who won the World Cup as both player and manager.
Current France boss Didier Deschamps has a contract covering the 2022 World Cup / Daniel Mihailescu – Pool / Getty Images
Should Zidane take over in early 2023, his first tournament cycle would be the European Championships 2024 in Germany, possibly followed by the 2026 World Cup held jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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