The rumour mill has finally ground to a halt. GoalZaza can confirm that the figurehead of French football's golden generation, Zinedine Zidane, is set...
The rumour mill has finally ground to a halt. GoalZaza can confirm that the figurehead of French football's golden generation, Zinedine Zidane, is set to trade the training ground for the technical area of the national team. He will be officially unveiled as the new manager of Les Bleus on Tuesday, signing a four year contract that will take him through to the 2030 World Cup. This is not merely a changing of the guard; this is the end of an era and the birth of a completely new one.Didier Deschamps, the man who orchestrated victory in 2018 and came within a penalty shootout of back to back glory in 2022, will step aside after twelve years in the hot seat. His tenure was defined by a pragmatic, often unbreakable defensive structure, a low block that frustrated even the most fluid of attacks. But the football world moves on, and the French federation has clearly decided that the time is right for a different kind of alchemy. Deschamps brought the trophy home. Zidane is being brought in to make the music.What does Zidane bring to the table It is a question that has been asked ever since he left Real Madrid for the second time. The answer, for those who watched his Champions League hat trick, is tactical flexibility married to an almost supernatural man management ability. He understands the weight of the shirt, the expectation of a nation that believes it is entitled to win. He will not simply park the bus; he will demand control. Expect a side that presses high, that trusts its technical superiority, and that is not afraid to be expansive in transitional play. This is a manager who knows exactly how to get the best from a superstar, having managed Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to their peak powers.The pressure, however, will be immense. This is not club football where you can buy your way out of a bad patch. This is the national team, where the margins are razor thin. The French public will not tolerate a slow build up. They want the trophy back, and they want it played with swagger. Zidane inherits a squad dripping with talent: Mbappe, Griezmann, Tchouameni, Saliba. The raw materials are there for a masterpiece. The question is whether the artist can paint quickly enough. For a man who has seen and done it all, this might just be his truest test. Forget the rumour and the speculation. The real work starts on Tuesday. This is going to be fascinating.
