Former France national team captain and star Zinedine Zidane confirmed yesterday his desire to coach the French national team “in the future,” noting that nothing is certain regarding this matter.

Zidane said at the sports festival organized by the Italian sports newspaper “La Gazzetta dello Sport,” “I am sure I will return to coaching.”

The 1998 World Cup and 2000 European champion (108 international matches, 31 goals) added, “In the future, and I am not saying it will happen now, what I want one day is to coach the French national team. We’ll see.”

Zidane, 53 years old, is considered the frontrunner to succeed Didier Deschamps, who will step down as France’s coach after the 2026 World Cup if they qualify.

“Zizou” paused his coaching career after leaving Spanish club Real Madrid, which he managed from 2016 to 2018 in his first spell, then from 2019 to 2021 in a second stint, winning two La Liga titles (2017 and 2020) and three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles (2016, 2017, and 2018).

Zidane explained that “the most important thing to be a good coach is to have a passion for football and to want to pass something on to your players, what you have deep inside you.”

The former player of Cannes (1988-1992), Bordeaux (1992-1996), Juventus (1996-2001), and Real Madrid (2001-2006) added, “The coach plays an important role in the success of his team, in my opinion, that accounts for 80 percent, as he transmits his energy and desire to do things well.”