"The only national team I would ever consider was my own." Zinedine Zidane meant it — and after five years away from football, he finally has it.
The 52-time capped former captain has been officially confirmed as France's new head coach, taking over from Didier Deschamps, who stepped down after 14 years following this summer's World Cup. It was an open secret for months. Now it's real. Zidane begins work on September 1, with his first competitive match a Nations League qualifier against Turkey in İzmit on the 25th.
Why now, and why this job specifically
During his five years out, Zidane turned down approaches from PSG, Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester United, the United States, and Brazil. Every one of them. The France post was the only thing that was ever going to get him back in a dugout, and he waited — patiently, deliberately — until it became available.
The comparison to Jürgen Klopp's return is apt. Both men needed the reset. Both found club management's relentless grind less appealing than the more measured rhythm of international football. Zidane stayed connected during his break — UEFA and FIFA events, ambassadorial roles — but he was never going to rush back for the wrong job.
He also had a legitimate reason to stay close to the sport without being employed by it: all four of his sons built professional careers in football. Luca represented Algeria at this summer's World Cup. Théo recently signed a one-year extension at Córdoba. Elyaz is now at French second-division side Red Star. Enzo retired a couple of years ago. Football was never far away.
The goal nobody's pretending isn't the goal
The official medium-term targets are the Nations League, Euro 2028, and the 2030 World Cup. In practice, that final one is the whole point.
Only three men have won the World Cup as both player and coach: Mário Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer, and — crucially — Didier Deschamps, the man Zidane has just replaced. Zidane won it as a player in 1998. The 2030 edition would be his shot at the other side of that equation. That's the frame everything else sits inside.
France's odds for 2030 just became significantly more interesting to track. A coach arriving with this profile, this much time to build, and this specific motivation — that's not a caretaker situation. Zidane will want to leave a mark. He becomes the 18th man to manage Les Bleus, following Platini, Jacquet, and Deschamps himself.
He takes office September 1. Turkey away is the first test. The real exam is still six years out.
