Zinedine Zidane has confirmed that he hopes to coach the French national team one day, though he stopped short of saying whether he intends to succeed Didier Deschamps when the current manager steps down.
The 53-year-old, who famously scored twice in France’s 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil, enjoyed huge success as Real Madrid’s head coach, leading the club to three consecutive Champions League titles.
“I’m sure I’ll return to coaching,” Zidane said during an event hosted by Italian sports outlet *La Gazzetta dello Sport*. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen now, but what I want one day is to coach the national team.”
Zidane is widely regarded as the favourite to take over once Deschamps, who guided France to World Cup glory in 2018, leaves after next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“The most important thing is to have a passion for football and to want to share what you have deep inside with your players,” Zidane added. “A coach’s energy and desire play a huge part — about 80 percent — in a team’s success.”
