Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane still hasn’t returned to coaching since leaving his second stint in charge of Los Blancos in 2021, so what could lie in store next for the Frenchman as several vacancies open up this summer?
In fairness, Zidane doesn’t look like the right fit for Liverpool, while there’s surely no chance the Madrid legend would ever consider the Barcelona job, but he has been linked with Bayern Munich recently as Thomas Tuchel will be stepping down at the end of this season.
Zidane is a big enough name to be linked with all the biggest jobs, but, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, French football expert Jonathan Johnson said he couldn’t see this deal happening.
For now, Bayern might want to go with someone with more of a connection to the club as it’s quite a specific environment at the Allianz Arena, so it might not be a role that’s that well suited to Zidane.
Johnson expects Zidane’s preference is to wait for the French national team job, but if that’s not available in the next few months then he could consider other clubs, with Juventus and Marseille named as teams likely to be on his radar.
Zidane could be open to Juve or OM jobs, says Johnson
“Zidane has been out of the game for a while and although I think we will see him return soon, I don’t think we’ll see him take up a job before this summer’s European Championships because his priority is to one day become manager of the French national team. Should France under-perform in Germany this summer than perhaps there could be a case for Didier Deschamps leaving his post, but should they do well, and they are one of the favourites for the tournament, then we could perhaps see Zidane hold talks with other clubs,” Johnson said.
“Specifically with the Bayern job, though, despite the club being somewhere where a number of French players have enjoyed a lot of success down the years, it’s quite a specific environment and one that tends to favour former players, especially at the moment when they’re going through quite a turbulent run.
“I could see Zidane putting out feelers for potential jobs available, and somewhere like Juventus, where he spent some time as a player, might appeal to him. Another one to keep an eye on would be Marseille – if there was to be a takeover at OM, they’re a club Zidane has an affinity with, even though ne never played for them. I think that could be an interesting project for him, especially with Mbappe leaving PSG, their Ligue 1 rivals might sense that there’s a real opportunity to challenge for honours.
“So I’m not too sure about the Bayern links, but Juventus and Marseille, should Zidane be on the club market, would be teams to keep tabs on, but it doesn’t change the fact that his priority at some point in his career is to lead the French national team.”