PARIS (AP) \u2014 Moments after being announced as France\u2019s new coach on Tuesday, Zinedine Zidane clenched his fists and his usually measured voice trembled a little.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited,\u201d he said. \u201cThe France team makes you dream. We have extraordinary players, an extraordinary team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zidane coached Real Madrid until leaving in 2021. He replaces Didier Deschamps at the helm of France team he led to glory as arguably its greatest ever player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve waited five years for this chance, so that\u2019s why I\u2019m a bit emotional,\u201d said Zidane, adding that it was the happiest day of his career as coach. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always watched this side as a fan and also as a future coach, I won\u2019t hide it.\u201d Zidane added. \u201cThat\u2019s why I didn\u2019t take a club side. I told myself that the only thing I wanted to do after Madrid was taking the France team.\u201d<\/p>\n
French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo announced Zidane\u2019s appointment at the FFF headquarters in Paris on Tuesday, saying he has been given a 4-year contract. <\/p>\n
Diallo called the hiring of Zidane \u201can exceptional moment, exceptional because of the person sat next to me,\u201d adding that Zidane \u201cis one of the legends of French soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 54-year-old Zidane could have gone to another club after leaving Madrid in 2021. But there was no way he would.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had some offers during the five years I was away to take charge of a club,\u201d he said. \u201cI turned them all down for the France team. It was the only thing I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zidane called it \u201can immense joy\u201d taking charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have so many emotions, I am ready for the challenge,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what motivates me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zidane praised Deschamps, who won the 2018 World Cup and stepped down after the recent edition, where Les Bleus lost in the semifinals to Spain.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I have the opportunity to be in charge of this team and I will give everything so that this team can win,\u201d Zidane said. \u201cI would also like to congratulate DD (Deschamps) for these remarkable years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diallo said he met Zidane for talks in February, 2025 after Deschamps said he would stand down after the 2026 World Cup. Zidane said France would play differently to how it did under Deschamps.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat motivates me is the game, I was a No. 10, I like goals,\u201d Zidane said. \u201cI was a leader on the field and now I want to be a leader by experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
His first game as France coach will be away to Turkey in the Nations League on Sept. 25, followed by a match in Belgium three days later.<\/p>\n
Home fans need to wait until Oct. 2 for a glimpse of Zidane at Stade de France, when France plays Italy, 20 years after he was sent off against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve noted all of the four matches to come, they\u2019re in my head,\u201d Zidane said, tapping his forehead. \u201cItaly is special, because I played there, because I know people, because I speak Italian. All of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the announcement, Zidane went to greet a large gathering of fans outside the federation headquarters and they cheered loudly when he arrived.<\/p>\n
From Deschamps to Zidane<\/p>\n
France lost the World Cup final on penalties in 2022 and lost the European Championship final on home soil in 2016. Some Deschamps critics, among them former France teammate Christophe Dugarry, said he should have won more with the players he had.<\/p>\n
Deschamps described an \u201can unbreathable atmosphere\u201d at the end of his tenure, without detailing what the tensions were.<\/p>\n
Zidane and Deschamps were different types of midfielders, but are forever linked by glory.<\/p>\n
The industrious Deschamps was France\u2019s captain and the mercurial Zinedine was the creative force when France won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.<\/p>\n
Affectionately nicknamed \u201cZizou\u201d his face was beamed onto the Arc de Triomphe the night France celebrated its first World Cup triumph in \u201998. An inspired Zidane scored two headers in the final in a 3-0 win against Brazil at Stade de France and later that year he won the Ballon d\u2019Or.<\/p>\n
Zizou\u2019s rise<\/p>\n
Born in Marseille to Algerian parents, Zidane\u2019s club career took him from Cannes to Bordeaux and then to two of the world\u2019s biggest clubs: Italian giant Juventus and Madrid. <\/p>\n
His international career began in 1994, when he scored two stunning goals against the Czech Republic after coming on as a substitute, in front of his home fans in Bordeaux.<\/p>\n
He won league titles with Juve and Madrid and scored a brilliant volley to help Madrid win the Champions League in 2002. <\/p>\n
With Zidane carrying an injury, France flopped at the 2002 World Cup \u2014 going out in the group stage \u2014 but reached the final four years later after Zidane came out of international retirement.<\/p>\n
His 108th and final game for France was against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final and he scored early with a deft Panenka-style penalty for his 31st, and last, international goal.<\/p>\n
Then, with millions watching around the world, an infamous moment saw him walk back up the field and slam his forehead into Materazzi\u2019s chest, sending the tall defender flying backward.<\/p>\n
Zidane trudged past the gold-tinted World Cup trophy as he left the field in Berlin, his international career over.<\/p>\n
His first game as France coach will be away to Turkey in the Nations League on Sept. 25, followed by a match in Belgium three days later.<\/p>\n
Home fans need to wait until Oct. 2 for a glimpse of Zidane at Stade de France, when France plays Italy.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/p>\n
Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS (AP) \u2014 Moments after being announced as France\u2019s new coach on Tuesday, Zinedine Zidane clenched his fists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-831308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}