Nearly two years after ending his career, Zinedine Zidane has plenty to keep him busy, as he travels around the world for charity and his sponsors.
The retired maestro does miss the excitement of the beautiful game, though.
“It would be great to come back in football. But how, in which way… I don’t know”, Zidane told L’Equipe magazine in a rare interview this week.
What’s for sure is that he won’t delight crowds again with his inventive dribbling and wonderful passing. He says he has turned down offers from Major League clubs in Chicago and Los Angeles and his playing days are over for good.
So what could he do to get back involved?
It’s hard to imagine him becoming a coach. Among the 1998 world champions, only captain Didier Deschamps and defence boss Laurent Blanc successfully moved from the pitch to coaching positions.
It’s doubtful Zidane had the right profile anyway. He was a brilliant playmaker but he was never one to galvanise his team mates with words. And, don’t forget, he was a bundle of nerves. He demonstrated that one last time with the famous head butt into Marco Materazzi’s chest in the final game of his illustrious career, France’s defeat by
Italy in the 2006 World Cup final.
Could he run a club, then? Doubtful again. Zidane is not a businessman and has consistently avoided conflicts, at least in public. A man of few words, he is happiest out of the spotlight and wants to lead a quiet life as a family man.
So,what’s left? A magician has many tricks and he will probably pull one out of his bag. If you’ve got any ideas in the mean time, please let us know in the comments.
PHOTO: Zidane, Pierluigi Collina and Ronaldo pictures ahead the fifth ‘Match against Poverty’ in the Rosaleda stadium in Malaga, November 19, 2007. REUTERS/Jon Nazca
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8 comments so far
Sam Allardyce once said defenders should wear light helmets (like amateur bxers) to protect their skull from heading the ball too much.
- Posted by Mark MeadowsPerhaps Zinedine could be Fifa’s official tester for such headgear, given he clearly has a tough nut
I wouldn’t write him off as a coach so quickly. Like a good wine, let him age a bit. He had such great instinct and vision as a player, why can’t that be translated some day into a very good coach? I’ve read that he had a lot to do with Ribery’s tremendous development — not with a lot of words; in fact, with hardly any words. It was more just gestures, glares and the occasional smile or half sentence. If that’s true, imagine what he might do if he could help create 11 Riberys? There are enough coaches around already who talk too much. A less talkative one would be a nice change of pace for players who’ve probably heard it all already anyhow. I hope he gets the chance some day (not too soon). I bet he’ll surprise the sceptics.
- Posted by ErikI could see him as a player’s agent, or a youth academy trainer. He has the potential to make young
players better, as we can take a look at his younger son Enzo Zidane (RM Castilla).
I think this will be the best suitable job for mister Zidane aka God…
- Posted by Bilala tv/radio commentator for football match maybe
- Posted by snydezI think Zidane should be Coach for any Club in the world or a National Team for any Team in the world…. I like to see face in Fields eventhough he can’t play again or anymore…
- Posted by barrieI think he can be a coach for any Team….
- Posted by barrieA bundle of nerves? As demonstrated by the headbutt?
He could be a hothead, though not enough times to detract anything from his marvellous skill, but a bundle of nerves he was not.
What happened earlier in that game illustrates that perfectly. Having carried France to the Final, he gets a penalty to score against Buffon, currently the best goalkeeper in the world, in the World Cup final which is to be his last game ever… What does he do? He chips it, in the middle of goal.
A bundle of nerves, bollocks
- Posted by Eirik SCan’t think of a job that would really fit him but I’d agree, there’s no reason why he couldn’t make a good coach. Kenny Dalglish wasn’t a great communicator either but he made a pretty good fist of it (early on anyway).
- Posted by London