Zinedine Zidane, a legend from his playing and managing days in Spain, was surprisingly considered for the Spanish national team coach position a while back.
During his time at Real Madrid, Zidane achieved incredible success both as a player and as a manager, winning La Liga and the Champions League in both roles. His managerial achievements at Real Madrid made him a candidate for the Spain national team job after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Albert Luque, who was the Spanish football federation’s sporting director at the time, revealed in a Cadena SER interview that Zidane, the former French World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner, was on their list of potential managers to replace Luis Enrique. Enrique resigned after Spain’s exit in the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup.
Luque stated, “I’ll tell you who I had in mind, and I’m revealing this for the first time today: Zidane. Yes, it would have been the first time to have a non-Spanish coach. And even Luis Rubiales, the president at the time, was unaware of this.”
Luque continued, “I received many calls from agents, but I told them not to call anymore because the job was going to Luis de la Fuente.”
Ultimately, Luis de la Fuente was appointed and led the Spanish national team to a record fourth Euro title in 2024, defeating England in the final. De la Fuente has recently extended his contract until 2028.
Zidane was also considered to potentially replace Didier Deschamps as the French national team manager. However, Deschamps extended his contract for four more years after the 2022 World Cup.
Deschamps has announced his departure as France manager at the end of the 2026 World Cup, making Zidane a leading candidate to succeed him.
Zidane has been without a coaching job since leaving Real Madrid in May 2021. He also turned down an offer to coach the United States men’s national team after the 2022 World Cup.