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Topics: Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid, France, Juventus
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid, France, Juventus
Zinedine Zidane has named the most influential coach of his career as he prepares to make a much-anticipated return to football management.
It has been a long time coming but on Sunday afternoon, Zidane confirmed that he will "definitely" make a return to the dugout, more than four years after leaving Real Madrid for a second time.
The 53-year-old, who resigned as Los Blancos manager in 2021 because he felt the club "no longer had faith" in him, spoke about his future at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.
Asked whether he has any intentions to make a return to management in the near future, Zidane simply replied: "I will definitely return.”
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He was then asked if Juventus could be a possible option, which led to an eyebrow-raising response.
“I don’t know," replied Zidane. "It hasn’t happened in the past, I made other choices. Juve is always close to my heart, they gave me so much when I first got there."
The Frenchman added: “In terms of the future, I don’t know. My feeling is that I want to be able to coach the national team in the future, even though I don’t mean right now. I would like to one day, but we’ll see.”
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As well as speaking about his desire to coach France's national team, Zidane explained why he became a coach.
"When I stopped playing, my life changed. After three years, I didn't know what to do. I tried so many things until I signed up for the coaching course," he said.
Zidane then named former Juventus boss Marcello Lippi as the most influential of his career.
"Of all the coaches I've had, the one I learned the most from was Lippi," Zidane said. "He was very important, because when I arrived in Italy, it was difficult for me at first, but he always believed in me.
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"I first had Ancelotti as my manager, then I became his assistant. He's a friend. He was important to my career. He was a good coach because he listened to us players."
This isn't the first time Zidane has singled out two of football's most well-known managers.
Speaking to Sky Sport Italia and DAZN in 2024, he said: “As a coach, I learned a great deal from both Lippi and Carlo Ancelotti. Lippi was the first coach who really believed in me. He brought me to Juve and I became the player I was thanks to him.”