In September, the France national team will have a new face on the touchline for the first time in 14 years — and by the time the appointment was announced on Tuesday morning, it had long been an open secret that Zinedine Zidane would succeed Didier Deschamps this summer.
At his unveiling in Paris, an emotional Zidane was keen to highlight the time he had spent waiting on the sidelines. “I had several offers in the last four or five years, but I turned them all down,” he said. “The national team is the only thing I wanted.”
“Zinedine Zidane appointed France manager, says he turned down other offers for years to wait for the role.”
Talks between the former Real Madrid manager and the French football authorities kicked off as early as February 2025, weeks after his former team-mate Deschamps announced he would step down following the 2026 World Cup.
While his enthusiasm was the overarching theme of Tuesday morning’s news conference, the midfield legend offered few clues to France fans as to how he would approach the role. A question on Kylian Mbappé’s captaincy was bypassed: “The most important thing for him now is to rest, we’ll have the chance to speak in September.”
When asked about his preferred style of play, Zidane opted against going into tactical detail. “I can’t explain to you in just a couple of words how we’re going win. I have to arrive, meet with the players, and explain my plans to them. After that, it’ll be up to me to keep this team winning.”
However, Zidane confirmed his intention “to do things differently” while signalling a degree of “continuation” from the work of his predecessor, which he made sure to praise. “I’m going to try do what I know how to, but it won’t be a complete break either.”
Zidane and Deschamps, two 1998 World Cup winners, share similar traits in their pragmatism and laissez-faire approach to attacking phases — a style Deschamps embraced in the recent World Cup, with the team netting 20 times in North America. “I was a number 10 as a player,” Zidane said, hinting he would retain the role Michael Olise thrived in for much of the summer. “What motivates me is the game, it’s scoring goals.”
Zidane is finding Les Bleus in immeasurably better shape than his predecessor did at the start of his own tenure, when the wounds of the 2010 World Cup fiasco were still fresh. The appointment nonetheless comes with uncertainty — but Zidane, who won the Champions League three times as Real Madrid manager, has the star power to harness, and the attacking talent to match his ambitions.