The French Football Federation has appointed Zinedine Zidane as head coach of the national team on a four-year contract. The former Real Madrid manager replaced Didier Deschamps and will work with the team through the 2030 World Cup.
Reuters reports this.
The appointment came two weeks after Deschamps’ 14-year spell with the national team ended. His final tournament was the World Cup, where France finished fourth and lost 6-4 to England in their last match.
Zidane said that managing the France national team was the only job he wanted after leaving Real Madrid. According to him, that was why he did not agree to take charge of clubs.
The 54-year-old coach is expected to make his debut in an away Nations League match against Turkey. After that, France will host Italy at the Stade de France on October 2.
Deschamps oversaw 185 matches in charge of the national team and recorded 120 victories. Under his leadership, France won the 2018 World Cup and the 2020/21 Nations League, and also reached the finals of Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup.
Zidane and Deschamps played together for the France team that won the World Cup on home soil in 1998. That same year, Zidane won the Ballon d’Or.
He made 108 appearances for the national team, scored 31 goals and provided 29 assists. Zidane became the third member of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning team, after Laurent Blanc and Deschamps, to take charge of Les Bleus.
At club level, Zidane managed Real Madrid. During his first spell, he led the team to three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, and after returning in 2019, he won another Spanish league title.
